Bursa Malaysia Pares Loss At Close After Bank Negara Cuts Interest Rate

By Anas Abu Hassan and Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 (Bernama) -- The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) pared earlier losses to end almost unchanged on Wednesday, declining by only 0.06 per cent, after Bank Negara cut the benchmark interest rate.

The Malaysian central bank’s monetary policy committee has reduced the overnight policy rate (OPR) by 25 basis points to 2.75 per cent

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.90 points to 1,529.24 from Tuesday’s close of 1,530.14.

The benchmark index had started the day 1.14 points lower at 1,529.0 and moved to a high of 1,532.62 during the morning session before slipping to 1,523.21 at mid-afternoon.

The market breadth was positive, with 559 gainers outpacing 371 decliners. A total of 525 counters were unchanged, while 952 were untraded and nine were suspended.

Turnover narrowed to 2.95 billion shares worth RM1.99 billion, compared with 3.06 billion shares worth RM2.20 billion on Tuesday.

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd's head of investment research, Mohd Sedek Jantan, said the reduction in the OPR, earlier than anticipated, appeared to be a pre-emptive measure in response to deteriorating global demand indicators and softening domestic growth momentum. “Sector-wise, financials continued to underperform, with banking counters posting losses for a third consecutive session. This dragged the Bursa Malaysia Financial Services Index lower,” he told Bernama.

Additionally, he noted that the FBMKLCI was also extending its corrective trend amid renewed external headwinds, with the imposition of a reciprocal 25 per cent US tariff on Malaysian exports “having materially shifted foreign portfolio dynamics.”

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng noted that regional indices posted mixed results amid lingering doubts about the breadth of US President Donald Trump’s trade tariff measures. “Looking ahead, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trade within a 1,520-1,540 range for the rest of the week, with 1,520 serving as critical support and 1,540-1,550 representing the next upside target if sentiment improves,” he said.

Among the heavyweight counters, Public Bank fell eight sen to RM4.26, CIMB dropped four sen to RM6.57, and AMMB shed seven sen to RM5.09. Maybank was flat at RM9.70, and IHH Healthcare slipped three sen to RM6.67, while Tenaga Nasional gained 14 sen to RM14.

In active trade, ACE Market debutant PMCK and NexG added one sen each to 23 sen and 44.5 sen, respectively. Tanco remained unchanged at 89 sen, Malaysian Resources jumped 5.5 sen to 56 sen, and Zetrix AI dropped 1.5 sen to 95.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 16.08 points to 11,484.22, the FBMT 100 Index expanded 11.63 points to 11,249.54, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 54.45 points to 11,486.89.

The FBM 70 Index increased 97.04 points to 16,634.94, while the FBM ACE Index improved 24.29 points to 4,496.63.

By sector, the Financial Services Index sank 104.43 points to 17,505.49, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.53 of a point to 153.22, while the Plantation Index grew 50.16 points to 7,479.08. The Energy Index ticked up 3.36 points to 736.90.

The Main Market volume reduced to 1.31 billion units worth RM1.74 billion from 1.51 billion units valued at RM1.98 billion on Tuesday.

Warrant turnover dropped to 1.25 billion units valued at RM134.91 million from 1.35 billion units worth RM154.21 million previously.

The ACE Market volume advanced to 382.69 million units valued at RM116.98 million versus 194.48 million units worth RM67.28 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 174.26 million shares traded on the Main Market; industrial products and services (158.82 million), construction (86.40 million), technology (191.23 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (65.87 million), property (223.92 million), plantation (16.24 million), REITs (17.41 million), closed-end fund (nil), energy (64.34 million), healthcare (221.76 million), telecommunications and media (31.69 million), transportation and logistics (14.67 million), utilities (48.01 million), and business trusts (171,300).

-- BERNAMA