KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — Bursa Malaysia ended lower today, remaining under selling pressure ahead of Budget 2027 announcement tomorrow, as a renewed surge in oil prices and escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia further dampened risk sentiment.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 10.77 points to 1,601.01 from Wednesday’s close of 1,611.78.

The benchmark index opened 1.67 points higher at 1,613.45, marking its intraday high, and hit a low of 1,597.94 in the mid-morning session.

On the broader market, losers thumped gainers 813 to 378, while 482 counters were unchanged, 2,828 untraded and 13 suspended.

Turnover decreased to 3.51 billion units worth RM3.46 billion, compared with 3.83 billion units worth RM3.52 billion yesterday.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said Brent crude oil rose more than three per cent, driven by growing concerns over a potential escalation between the United States and Iran.

“For Malaysian equities, the combination of higher energy prices, geopolitical uncertainty and persistent foreign selling is becoming an increasingly important near-term headwind.

“Foreign investors have remained net sellers for 10 consecutive trading days as of yesterday, limiting the market’s ability to absorb external shocks despite expectations surrounding Budget 2027,” it said.

He expects the FBM KLCI to remain volatile in the near term, with oil price movements, foreign fund flows and developments in US-Iran tensions likely to outweigh domestic catalysts ahead of Budget 2027.

Among the heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional added four sen to RM12.90, while Maybank and CIMB eased seven sen each to RM9.80 and RM7.26, respectively, Public Bank shed four sen to RM4.55, and IHH Healthcare was two sen lower at RM7.88.

In active trade, Top Glove perked up two sen to 87.5 sen, V.S Industry put on half a sen to 33 sen, JAKS Resources edged up one sen to 18.5 sen, Zetrix AI inched down half a sen to 7.5 sen, while PUC was flat at four sen. 

Among the top gainers, Petronas Gas increased by 54 sen to RM17.80, Nestle rose 42 sen to RM89.44, Hengyuan Refining Company improved 26 sen to RM3.77, Chin Teck Plantations gained 26 sen to RM10.54, Bus Cap surged 18 sen to 99.5 sen, and Gas Malaysia climbed 15 sen to RM5.40.

Malaysian Pacific Industries led the top losers, falling RM1.70 to RM43.50, Dutch Lady Milk Industries declined 46 sen to RM29.24, United Plantations shrank 78 sen to RM30.40, Kuala Lumpur Kepong erased 56 sen to RM20.54, and UMS Integration slid 50 sen to RM8.80.

On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index slumped 216.42 points to 17,537.07, the FBM Emas Index declined 95.19 points to 12,029.76, the FBM Top 100 Index shrank 96.87 points to 11,805.11, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 87.32 points to 12,059.83, and the FBM ACE Index slid 27.60 points to 5,594.78.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.05 points to 178.83, the Financial Services Index dropped 184.87 points to 18,378.45, the Energy Index rose 0.37 of a point to 839.34, and the Plantation Index tumbled 106.25 points to 8,869.79.

The Main Market volume slipped to 1.88 billion units worth RM3.09 billion from 2.40 billion units worth RM3.15 billion on Wednesday.

Warrants turnover expanded to 1.08 billion units worth RM155.11 million from 939.82 million units worth RM143.09 million yesterday.

The ACE Market volume increased to 546.33 million units valued at RM217.71 million from 489.99 million units valued at RM227.12 million previously.

Meanwhile, consumer products and services counters accounted for 199.19 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (375.18 million), construction (167.81 million), technology (495.78 million), financial services (119.03 million), property (71.79 million), plantation (33.92 million), real estate investment trusts (13.51 million), closed-end fund (218,400), energy (74.29 million), healthcare (194.62 million), telecommunications and media (48.38 million), transportation and logistics (37.89 million), utilities (50.94 million), and business trusts (38,800). — Bernama