Bursa KLCI claws back losses, ends at intraday high on heavyweight buying

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 — Bursa Malaysia reversed earlier losses to end at its intraday high on Friday, due to late buying in selected heavyweights.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 1.81 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 1,732.83 from yesterday’s close of 1,731.02. 

The market bellwether opened 1.79 points lower at 1,729.23 and subsequently hit an intraday low of 1,723.91 in early trade. It moved within a narrow range for most of the day before gaining momentum toward the close.

However, in the broader market, losers led gainers 683 to 408, with 544 counters unchanged, 1,020 counters untraded and 27 suspended.

Turnover slipped to 3.02 billion units valued at RM3.10 billion from yesterday’s 3.30 billion units valued at RM3.25 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices trended lower following a heavy sell-off on Wall Street overnight, as investors grew increasingly sceptical that large investments in artificial intelligence (AI) would yield near-term returns.

“The pullback followed earnings releases from Alphabet and Microsoft, which reignited concerns over the long-term profitability of substantial capital spending on AI, despite both companies posting revenue that exceeded expectations,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI reversed earlier weakness to close marginally higher today, extending its consolidation phase while continuing to outperform the majority of regional peers amid a pronounced risk-off session across Asian equities.

“Today’s intraday volatility and subsequent recovery were driven by internal rotation rather than capital flight. At the component level, price action was characterised by shallow and selective moves, with mixed performances among banking heavyweights pointing to rebalancing within the sector rather than sector-wide de-risking,” he said. 

He noted that mild profit-taking in selected defensives contrasted with continued strength in infrastructure, energy and consumer discretionary names, reinforcing confidence in domestic demand resilience and policy continuity.

“The absence of outsized declines among index heavyweights further underscores that selling pressure remains tactical and externally driven,” he said. 

In conclusion, Mohd Sedek said the market is undergoing a time correction rather than a price correction, digesting recent gains amid heightened global headline risk without repricing domestic fundamentals.

“The late-session rebound, set against a sharply weaker regional backdrop, highlights Malaysia’s lower beta market structure and the anchoring role of domestically driven sectors,” he said.

Among heavyweights, Public Bank gained 7.0 sen to RM4.97, IHH Healthcare was 3.0 sen higher at RM8.80, CIMB slid 6.0 sen to RM8.46, Tenaga Nasional lost 4.0 sen to RM13.94, while Maybank was flat at RM11.94.

On the most active list, Zetrix AI and Tanco edged down 1.0 sen each to 68.5 sen and RM1.33, respectively, ACE Market debutant AmBest Group gained 9.5 sen to 34.5 sen, Pharmaniaga rose half-a-sen to 29.5 sen, while Velesto Energy was flat at 30 sen. 

Among the top gainers, Petronas Dagangan advanced 20 sen to RM20.50, Perak Corporation soared 10.5 sen to 68.5 sen, Petronas Gas, Solarvest and Life Water climbed 10 sen each to RM18.20, RM2.37, and RM1.57, respectively.

Malaysian Pacific Industries led the decliners, falling RM1.60 sen to RM30.40, Fraser & Neave slid 94 sen to RM32.94, Dutch Lady Milk Industries slipped 46 sen to RM33.00, Nestle lost 30 sen to RM112.30, and Allianz Malaysia shed 28 sen to RM22.20.

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index inched down 0.96 of-a-point to 12,470.99, the FBM Emas Index erased 4.73 points to 12,639.69, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 19.83 points to 12,105.49, the FBM ACE Index shed 3.56 points to 4,630.79, and the FBM Mid 70 Index fell 64.39 points to 17,234.12.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 2.90 points to 21,476.94, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.06 points to 173.47, the Plantation Index slipped 18.75 points to 8,323.63, and the Energy Index trimmed 1.64 points to 739.01. 

The Main Market volume decreased to 1.68 billion units worth RM2.80 billion from Thursday’s 2.28 billion units worth RM3.32 billion.

Warrants turnover declined to 810.24 million units worth RM88.93 million from 1.07 billion units worth RM1.33 billion previously.

The ACE Market volume expanded to 529.41 million units worth RM207.76 million from 482.17 million units worth RM204.19 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 231.45 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (305.62 million), construction (158.53 million), technology (331.80 million), financial services (129.16 million), property (164.34 million), plantation (20.89 million), real estate investment trusts (29.37 million), closed-end fund (23,800), energy (115.61 million), healthcare (80.82 million), telecommunications and media (39.40 million), transportation and logistics (42.04 million), utilities (28.35 million), and business trusts (16,800). — Bernama