KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 — Bursa Malaysia closed marginally lower on Friday, as cautious sentiment persisted, with investors remaining on the sidelines amid ongoing conflicts in West Asia, said an analyst.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.80 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 1,695.50 from Thursday’s close of 1,698.30.

The benchmark index opened 5.82 points higher at 1,704.12, and moved between 1,693.65 and 1,708.12 throughout the day. 

However, market breadth remained positive, with gainers outnumbering losers 634 to 415, while 521 counters were unchanged, 1,077 untraded and 10 suspended.

Turnover improved to 3.38 billion units worth RM2.95 billion from yesterday’s 3.20 billion units worth RM3.50 billion.   

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, said the local bourse remains cautious given the heightened volatility and uncertainty stemming from the unresolved conflict in West Asia. 

“Overall trading activity remained muted due to holiday closures in major markets such as Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI losses were led by banking stocks, which came under pressure as investors turned cautious ahead of the US Non-Farm Payrolls release. 

He said investors expect a softer print that points to a cooling US economy.

“While this does not imply an imminent rate cut, it reinforces expectations of a less hawkish Federal Reserve and a potential peak in the rate cycle, which is starting to weigh on overall market sentiment as investors reassess the outlook,” said Mohd Sedek. 

Among heavyweights, Maybank slipped 20 sen to RM11.26, Public Bank dropped five sen to RM4.66, and CIMB fell 10 sen to RM7.49, while Tenaga Nasional added four sen to RM14.04, and IHH Healthcare was flat at RM8.96.

On the most active list, Borneo Oil inched up half-a-sen to one sen, Top Glove rose five sen to 81 sen, V.S. Industry eased half-a-sen to 18 sen, Supermax Corporation gained 4.5 sen to 35 sen, and Zetrix AI added one sen to 76 sen.

Among top gainers, Nestle jumped RM1.34 to RM100.20, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rose RM1.00 to RM22.88, YTL Power gained 31 sen to RM3.51, Petronas Gas advanced 24 sen to RM18.28, and Malaysian Pacific Industries put on 22 sen to RM29.30.

Among top losers, Fraser & Neave dipped 80 sen to RM28.50, Hong Leong Bank fell 28 sen to RM21.72, RHB Bank sank 22 sen to RM8.32, while AmBank and Allianz slid 20 sen each to RM6.30 and RM20.48 respectively. 

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index shed 5.89 points to 12,251.12, the FBM Emas Index gained 3.54 points to 12,392.16, the FBM Emas Shariah Index garnered 72.64 points to 12,269.56, the FBM ACE Index increased 39.78 points to 4,309.92, and the FBM Mid 70 Index rose 54.05 points to 17,140.94.

By sector, the Financial Services Index tumbled 288.53 points to 19,849.72, while the Plantation Index jumped 65.16 points to 9,155.51, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.35 points to 184.75, and the Energy Index climbed 11.89 points to 818.52.

The Main Market volume advanced to 2.37 billion units valued at RM2.78 billion from Thursday’s 2.20 billion units valued at RM3.32 billion.

Warrants turnover slipped to 749.15 million units worth RM74.13 million from 786.65 million units worth RM107.48 million previously. 

The ACE Market volume expanded to 266.53 million units valued at RM89.92 million from 212.94 million units valued at RM77.68 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 202.70 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (655.74 million), construction (164.17 million), technology (273.13 million), financial services (60.75 million), property (176.65 million), plantation (75.33 million), real estate investment trusts (18.16 million), closed-end fund (14,200), energy (250.19 million), healthcare (345.04 million), telecommunications and media (20.20 million), transportation and logistics (30.07 million), utilities (93.80 million), and business trusts (134,100). — Bernama