KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — Bursa Malaysia ended lower on Friday, slipping below the key 1,700 psychological level as geopolitical headlines continued to drive market sentiment, said an analyst.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 12.16 points or 0.71 per cent to 1,698.85 from yesterday’s close of 1,711.01.

The market bellwether opened 9.07 points lower at 1,701.94, and fluctuated between 1,696.04 and 1,709.05 throughout the day.

Market breadth was negative with losers outpacing gainers 627 to 440. A total of 541 counters were unchanged, 1,081 untraded, and 18 suspended.

Turnover declined to 2.87 billion units worth RM3.45 billion from Thursday’s 3.01 billion units worth RM3.53 billion.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said rising tensions in West Asia pushed Brent crude back toward US$100 per barrel, marking the second time this week the benchmark has breached that level and reinforcing concerns over potential disruptions to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

“The conflict shows little sign of de-escalation, with Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, signalling that Tehran may seek to keep the strait effectively closed and could open additional fronts if US and Israeli attacks persist,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, he said US President Donald Trump reiterated that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons remains a strategic priority, even if it leads to higher oil prices.

At the time of writing, Brent crude slipped 0.14 per cent to US$100.30 (RM395) per barrel.

Mohd Sedek said domestically, weakness in heavyweight banking counters, which account for roughly 44 per cent of the FBM KLCI’s index weighting, emerged as the main drag on overall market performance.

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the local market closed lower in line with weaker regional market performance, as escalating tensions in West Asia continued to weigh on sentiment.

“With oil tankers stranded in the Gulf, Brent crude stayed above US$100 per barrel. As Iran intensified attacks across the region and Mojtaba pledged to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, investors grew increasingly concerned over a prolonged conflict and sustained high oil prices,” he said.

Earlier, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said the government's monthly petrol subsidy has increased to RM2 billion, while the diesel subsidy has also risen to RM1.2 billion per month, totalling RM3.2 billion per month, up from RM700 million before the conflict in West Asia. 

He said the government will ensure citizens continue to receive assistance through targeted RON95 subsidies under the BUDI95 initiative, while keeping petrol and diesel prices unchanged despite the rise in fuel subsidy spending.

“This burden can still be borne by the government because we have undertaken many reforms and fiscal consolidation over the three years the MADANI government has been in office, and we have the fiscal space to absorb it,” he said at a press conference after today's Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said investors may keep an eye on the release of the United States fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data later today.

Among heavyweights, Maybank slid 12 sen to RM11.32, Public Bank eased two sen to RM4.79, Tenaga Nasional dropped 20 sen to RM14.20, IHH Healthcare sank 27 sen to RM8.83, while CIMB added one sen to RM8.0.

On the most active list, Jiankun International shed two sen to 4.5 sen, Zetrix AI fell 3.5 sen to 75 sen, V.S. Industry eased 1.5 sen to 29 sen, Capital A trimmed 2.5 sen to 40.5 sen, while Tanco Holdings improved two sen to RM1.50.

Top gainers included Gas Malaysia which jumped 24 sen to RM5.28, Petronas Chemicals rose 13 sen to RM4.75, Concrete Engineering Products garnered 16 sen to RM1.35, Pineapple Resources surged 13 sen to 73 sen, and Dutch Lady Milk Industries climbed 18 sen to RM32.

As for the top losers, Malayan Cement slumped RM1.33 to RM6.15, Nestle dipped RM1.70 to RM102.40, United Plantations sank 54 sen to RM32.56, Hong Leong Bank decreased 52 sen to RM22.40, and Petronas Dagangan slipped 68 sen to RM21.26.

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index fell 96.64 points to 12,249.42, the FBM Emas Index declined 95.97 points to 12,405.83, the FBM 70 Index dropped 174.58 points to 17,031.94, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 95.17 points to 12,129.92, and the FBM ACE Index gave up 25.97 points to 4,375.80.

By sector, the Financial Services Index tumbled 228.85 points to 20,418.26, the Plantation Index decreased 60.04 points to 8,444.19, the Industrial Products and Services Index shaved off 0.91 of-a-point to 175.27, while the Energy Index perked up 1.36 points to 797.10.

The Main Market volume decreased to 1.71 billion units valued at RM3.24 billion from 1.79 billion units valued at RM3.30 billion on Thursday.

Warrants turnover expanded to 895.71 million units worth RM109.71 million from 837.99 million units worth RM106.19 million yesterday. 

The ACE Market volume shrank to 255.45 million units valued at RM98.65 million from 380.017 million units valued at RM123.66 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 219.60 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (362.43 million), construction (161.74 million), technology (156.68 million), financial services (136.48 million), property (212.97 million), plantation (37.27 million), real estate investment trusts (29.58 million), closed-end fund (10,000), energy (152.51 million), healthcare (48.68 million), telecommunications and media (48.68 million), transportation and logistics (27.51 million), utilities (37.79 million), and business trusts (301,500). — Bernama