Bursa Malaysia Ends On A Softer Note
By Nurunnasihah Ahmad Rashid
KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the first half of the 2026 trading year on a softer note, following a range-bound trading session as investors remained cautious amid the lack of fresh domestic catalysts.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said regional equities finished broadly higher, supported by stronger-than-expected business activity data from China and continued strength in technology stocks.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 1.85 points to 1,664.06 from Monday’s close of 1,665.91.
The index opened 1.37 points higher at 1,667.28 and fluctuated between an intraday low of 1,661.80 and a high of 1,669.88 throughout the day.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers outnumbering decliners 562 to 415, while 589 counters were unchanged, 1,124 untraded, and 79 suspended.
Turnover increased to 2.91 billion units valued at RM2.77 billion against 2.71 billion units valued at RM2.13 billion yesterday.
Regionally, Shanghai’s SSE Composite Index rose 0.50 per cent to 4,094.40, Japan’s Nikkei 225 increased 0.86 per cent to 70,062.32, and South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index gained 0.97 per cent to 8,476.48, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index went down 0.73 per cent to 5,170.65.
Thong said on the domestic front, sentiment remained subdued as persistent foreign selling and external uncertainties continued to weigh on investor confidence.
“Nevertheless, the recent market pullback has made valuations of selected blue-chip stocks more attractive, potentially encouraging bargain hunting if global market sentiment remains supportive.
“While near-term volatility is likely to persist, we expect the downside to be cushioned by domestic institutional buying and selective accumulation in fundamentally sound stocks,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank was two sen lower at RM10.78, and CIMB fell four sen to RM7.41, while Public Bank added one sen to RM4.80, Tenaga Nasional bagged two sen to RM14.28, and IHH was flat at RM8.40.
Of the active counters, Tanco added three sen to 17.5 sen, and Gamuda jumped 17 sen to RM4.37, while Zetrix AI was flat at 76 sen. Dagang NeXchange trimmed half a sen to 41.5 sen, and ACE Market debutant Liftech slipped five sen to 24 sen.
On the top gainers list, Malaysian Pacific Industries garnered 56 sen to RM49.66, Dutch Lady put on 50 sen to RM33.00, United Plantations rose 42 sen to RM33.08, UMS Integration surged 34 sen to RM8.21, and Apollo soared 29 sen to RM6.14.
Among the top losers, Batu Kawan dropped 34 sen to RM21.10, Allianz trimmed 22 sen to RM21.08, Dynafront tumbled 20 sen to 80 sen, AmBank slid 17 sen to RM6.37, and LPI slipped 16 sen to RM14.98.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index rose by 5.20 points to 12,385.11, the FBM Top 100 Index added 1.95 points to 12,215.04, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 31.33 points to 12,283.85.
The FBM Mid 70 Index went up 68.75 points to 17,917.46 and the FBM ACE Index garnered 34.14 points to 4,823.43.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slipped 62.36 points to 19,610.66, the Energy Index perked up 4.14 points to 751.64, the Plantation Index gained 29.13 points to 8,854.77, and the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 0.74 of a point to 180.63.
The Main Market volume climbed to 1.52 billion units valued at RM2.48 billion compared with 1.33 billion units valued at RM1.86 billion on Monday.
Warrants turnover expanded to 883.88 million units worth RM111.20 million versus 851.04 million units worth RM110.69 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume declined to 502.82 million units valued at RM176.25 million from 526.01 million units valued at RM163.67 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 163.71 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (285.24 million), construction (103.53 million), technology (340.12 million), financial services (77.88 million), property (244.71 million), plantation (29.25 million), real estate investment trusts (16.47 million), closed-end fund (9,000), energy (87.19 million), healthcare (66.28 million), telecommunications and media (48.24 million), transportation and logistics (36.23 million), utilities (24.39 million), and business trusts (63,700).
-- BERNAMA