KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — Bursa Malaysia ended the week lower amid a lack of buying interest, reflecting continued cautious sentiment, said an analyst.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 3.37 points or 0.21 per cent to 1,582.59 from Thursday’s close of 1,585.96.

The benchmark index opened 0.47 of a point lower at 1,585.49 and fluctuated between an intraday low of 1,579.66 and a high of 1,588.10 throughout the day.

Market breadth remained negative with losers thumping gainers 686 to 369, while 497 counters were unchanged, 1,232 untraded and 16 suspended.

Turnover declined to 2.84 billion units valued at RM2.36 billion compared with yesterday’s 3.06 billion units valued at RM2.56 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the benchmark FBM KLCI has now declined for five consecutive sessions, bringing it closer to oversold territory.

He said investor confidence remained fragile amid renewed concerns over artificial intelligence-related investments and uncertainty surrounding Nvidia’s leadership changes.

Additionally, regional markets were mostly weaker, with Hong Kong leading the decline, followed by South Korea, Singapore and Shanghai, while Japan bucked the trend.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.55 per cent to 23,637.60, South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index decreased 0.98 per cent to 5,290.53, Singapore’s Straits Times Index eased 0.96 per cent to 5,231.84, and the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index eased 0.59 per cent to 3,634.35.

In contrast, Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.53 per cent to 61,142.35.

He said although the persistent weakness and thin trading volume suggest investors remain reluctant to increase exposure, the recent correction has created increasingly attractive opportunities for selective bargain hunting.

“Malaysia’s underlying economic fundamentals remain resilient, while valuations of selected blue chips, particularly banking stocks, have become more compelling following the sell-off, offering attractive prospective dividend yields,” he told Bernama.

Among heavyweight stocks, CIMB fell one sen to RM7.08, Tenaga Nasional lost four sen to RM12.76, while Public Bank climbed one sen to RM4.54, Maybank was three sen higher at RM9.94, and IHH Healthcare rose nine sen to RM7.93.

In active trade, MMAG erased one sen to three sen, CBH Engineering sank 14 sen to 68 sen, while Zetrix AI put on half a sen to six sen, GIIB Holdings edged up 2.5 sen to 13 sen, and Nexgram was flat at 5.5 sen.

Among the top gainers, Mega Fortris surged 23 sen to RM1.24, P.I.E Industrial jumped 12 sen to RM1.62, Sarawak Oil Palms gained 17 sen to RM5.48, Hengyuan Refining Company advanced 15 sen to RM2.75, and RHB Bank rose 20 sen to RM7.73.

Nestle led the decliners, falling RM1.94 to RM93.00, Malaysian Pacific Industries dipped RM1.32 to RM37.20, Vitrox Corp slipped 60 sen to RM9.50, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gave up 52 sen RM20.86, and MI Technovation slid 50 sen to RM5.75.

On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index fell 51.20 points to 11,736.89 and the FBM Top 100 Index shrank 47.60 points to 11,571.65.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 93.59 points to 11,679.68, the FBM ACE Index slumped 123.77 points to 5,063.14, and the FBM Mid 70 Index decreased 165.24 points to 16,783.33.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.93 of a point to 170.09, and the Plantation Index was down 123.19 points to 8,796.07, while the Energy Index perked up 1.25 points to 783.07 and the Financial Services Index rose 55.41 points to 18,512.20.

The Main Market volume narrowed to 1.32 billion units worth RM2.06 billion from 1.43 billion units worth RM2.28 billion yesterday.

Warrants turnover declined to 744.65 million units worth RM83.84 million from 836.38 million units worth RM98.04 million previously.

The ACE Market volume slipped to 774.69 million units valued at RM217.13 million from 788.18 million units valued at RM174.71 million on Thursday.

Meanwhile, consumer products and services counters accounted for 205.38 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (321.08 million), construction (115.22 million), technology (270.47 million), financial services (59.42 million), property (55.21 million), plantation (28.08 million), real estate investment trusts (14.94 million), closed-end fund (547,900), energy (51.63 million), healthcare (88.19 million), telecommunications and media (19.10 million), transportation and logistics (37.00 million), utilities (56.75 million), and business trusts (2,000). — Bernama