Bursa Malaysia Extends Losses At Midday On Weak Sentiment
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia continued its downtrend at midday on Friday, tracking losses among most regional peers as selling in heavyweight counters weighed on the market amid weak sentiment following Wall Street’s overnight rout.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) lost 22.01 points or 1.34 per cent to 1,613.85 from Thursday’s close of 1,635.86.
The benchmark index opened 15.31 points weaker at 1,620.55 and moved between 1,612.33 and 1,620.55 throughout the trading session.
Market breadth was negative, with losers outpacing gainers 963 to 210, while 308 counters were unchanged, 1,292 untraded and 10 suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.34 billion units, worth RM1.73 billion.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said Bursa Malaysia is likely to face knee-jerk selling pressure, in line with weaker performance on Wall Street overnight, as a sharp tech-led correction and concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) regulation weigh on regional sentiment.
It said the FBM KLCI’s recent rebound may also invite profit-taking after reaching a six-week high, while pre-Deepavali holiday caution could spur further position trimming despite renewed foreign inflows.
“Meanwhile, subdued sentiment, November earnings uncertainty, domestic political noise and portfolio adjustments ahead of the FBM KLCI’s phased expansion from 30 to 50 constituents may add to volatility.
“Malaysia’s growing AI and data-centre exposure also leaves sentiment vulnerable to a global AI capital expenditure reassessment, tighter US regulatory scrutiny and shifting investment flows,” it said in a note today.
Among the 30 FBM KLCI constituents, 27 counters traded lower, while one was higher and two others were flat.
Of the heavyweight stocks, Maybank dropped 10 sen to RM10.06, Public Bank slipped seven sen to RM4.89, CIMB lost eight sen to RM7.07, and Tenaga Nasional shed 18 sen to RM12.92. IHH Healthcare was one sen higher at RM7.73.
In active trade, Zetrix AI bagged half a sen to 6.5 sen, VS Industry fell two sen to 30 sen, Supermax went down one sen to 45.5 sen, Inari Amertron erased 14 sen to RM2.14, and Nationgate fell two sen to RM1.85.
Among the gainers were Fraser & Neave, which firmed RM1.02 to RM22.24, Hong Leong Industries strengthened 14 sen to RM16.74, Amway bagged 10 sen to RM4.08 and Enra Group added eight sen to 79 sen.
Of the top losers, MPI fell RM2.68 to RM36.20, Nestle lost RM1.70 to RM94.30, Mega Fortris slipped 49 sen to RM1.34, Kelington dropped 23 sen to RM7.71 and UWC shrank 28 sen to RM6.31.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index tumbled 182.52 points to 11,952.32, while the FBM Top 100 Index plunged 178.84 points to 11,783.49.
The FBM Mid 70 Index weakened 334.53 points to 17,020.20, the FBM Emas Shariah Index contracted 195.75 points to 11,811.35 and the FBM ACE Index declined 98.51 points to 5,224.14.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 3.65 points to 171.60, and the Energy Index fell 12.77 points to 793.70. The Financial Services Index slipped 200.85 points to 18,928.07, while the Plantation Index slumped 56.19 points to 8,728.04.
-- BERNAMA