Bursa Malaysia Ends Sharply Lower On Rising Yields, Oil Prices
By Fatin Umairah Abdul Hamid
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended sharply lower on Tuesday as the market succumbed to selling pressure amid surging bond yields and elevated oil prices, which continued to undermine risk appetite.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 26.06 points, or 1.56 per cent, to 1,643.96, from Monday’s close of 1,670.02.
The benchmark index, which opened 5.91 points lower at 1,664.11, moved between 1,643.36 and 1,665.32 throughout the trading session.
Market breadth was negative, with decliners outnumbering gainers 688 to 412. A total of 548 counters were unchanged, 1,243 untraded and 143 suspended.
Turnover improved to 3.31 billion units worth RM2.95 billion from 3.11 billion units valued at RM2.40 billion on Monday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the benchmark Brent crude oil rose to around US$107 per barrel, fuelling inflationary concerns, while technology stocks remained under pressure amid uncertainty over the pace of artificial intelligence development.
He also said the market is expected to remain cautious, with trading conditions likely to stay volatile until clearer signs of stabilisation emerge.
“The breach of the 1,656-point level suggests that selling pressure has yet to fully subside, although the oversold technical position could limit further downside.
“At the same time, the recent correction has created more attractive entry levels among fundamentally sound blue chip stocks, presenting opportunities for investors to gradually accumulate on weakness,” he told Bernama.
The market was also dampened by selling in heavyweights led by banking stocks. Maybank dropped 17 sen to RM9.99, Public Bank lost seven sen to RM4.72, CIMB decreased 21 sen to RM7.78, RHB Bank weakened 30 sen to RM7.54, and AMMB shed 16 sen to RM6.44.
Among other heavyweight stocks, Tenaga Nasional lost 18 sen to RM12.72 and IHH Healthcare slid eight sen to RM7.87.
In active trade, Zetrix AI dropped 2.5 sen to 16.5 sen, Jaks Resources gained half a sen to 19 sen, Land & General eased 1.5 sen to 20.5 sen, while both MAG and Ni Hsin were flat at 15.5 sen and 39 sen respectively.
Among the top gainers, Allianz Malaysia rose 50 sen to RM22.00, Solarvest was 33 sen higher at RM4.49, Samaiden put on 28 sen to RM3.18, Southern Cable jumped 21 sen to RM2.97, and KLCC Property & REITS increased 18 sen to RM8.53.
Malaysian Pacific Industries was the biggest loser, falling RM1.40 to RM40.80, Nestle trimmed RM1.04 to RM89.00, Fraser & Neave erased 42 sen to RM21.80, United Plantations slipped 28 sen to RM31.32, and Unisem fell 26 sen to RM4.23.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index dipped 77.68 points to 17,610.09, the FBM Emas Index slumped 149.32 points to 12,265.47, and the FBM Top 100 Index shrank 155.41 points to 12,051.54.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 114.71 points to 12,127.61 while the FBM ACE Index notched up 37.97 points to 5,528.58.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 1.94 points to 180.86, while the Energy Index gained 6.88 points to 868.70. The Financial Services Index tumbled 337.53 points to 19,260.85 and the Plantation Index went down 2.15 points to 9,216.34.
The Main Market volume increased to 1.88 billion units worth RM2.58 billion from 1.69 billion units valued at RM2.05 billion on Monday.
Warrants turnover expanded to 978.19 million units worth RM190.60 million from 944.79 million units valued at RM156.45 million previously.
The ACE Market volume declined to 447.33 million units valued at RM181.49 million from 469.48 million units worth RM190.74 million yesterday.
Meanwhile, consumer products and services counters accounted for 261.58 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (280.60 million), construction (163.72 million), technology (613.33 million), financial services (81.80 million), property (139.88 million), plantation (35.09 million), real estate investment trusts (22.57 million), closed-end fund (422,400), energy (129.66 million), healthcare (56.77 million), telecommunications and media (21.99 million), transportation and logistics (35.79 million), utilities (40.65 million), and business trusts (48,800).
-- BERNAMA