Bursa Malaysia Ends Lower As It Tracks Cautious Wall St Performance
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended lower on Thursday amid continued selling pressure, tracking a mixed and cautious Wall Street performance overnight.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 20.81 points, or 1.26 per cent, to 1,630.36 from Wednesday’s close of 1,651.17.
The benchmark index, which opened 1.30 points weaker at 1,649.87, moved between 1,630.10 and 1,649.87 throughout the trading session.
Market breadth was also negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 750 to 342, while 495 counters were unchanged, 1,186 untraded and 12 suspended.
Turnover fell to 3.1 billion units, worth RM2.7 billion, from 3.63 billion units valued at RM3.62 billion on Wednesday.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said sentiment was cautious, reinforced by weaker domestic manufacturing activity and continued foreign selling. He said softer manufacturing momentum and portfolio rotation in global markets kept the benchmark index under pressure, with domestic institutional demand remaining an important counterbalance to persistent foreign outflows.
Earlier, the S&P Global Malaysia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) edged slightly below the neutral 50.0 mark, falling to 49.9 in September from 50.2 in August, marking the first decline in four months after a sustained period of improvement. Regionally, the S&P Global ASEAN Manufacturing PMI fell to 52.1 in September from 52.3 in August.
Among the heavyweight counters, Maybank fell four sen to RM9.95, while Public Bank lost three sen to RM4.67, and CIMB dropped 10 sen to RM7.69. Tenaga Nasional declined six sen to RM12.90, and IHH Healthcare erased 13 sen to RM7.70.
In active trade, Zetrix AI firmed half a sen to 16.5 sen, VS Industry dipped one sen to 27 sen, and Jaks Resources slipped 2.5 sen to 18 sen. ACE Market debutant GB Bond slumped 4.5 sen to 20.5 sen, and HHRG gained half a sen to 16.5 sen.
Of the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries surged 72 sen to RM41.12, Ayer Holdings rose 20 sen to RM7.70, and Riverview Rubber Estates advanced 12 sen to RM3.02. Dutch Lady Malaysia Industries added 10 sen to RM30, and Vitrox gained nine sen to RM10.
Among the top losers, Kuala Lumpur Kepong dropped 78 sen to RM21.42, Allianz Malaysia gave up 62 sen to RM21.00, and United Plantations fell 60 sen to RM30.96. Fraser & Neave and Hong Leong Industries both slipped 32 sen to RM21.42 and RM16.14, respectively.
-- BERNAMA