KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — Bursa Malaysia closed lower on Monday, tracking weaker regional market performance after Iran-United States talks ended in a stalemate, prompting Washington to proceed with plans to blockade the Strait of Hormuz and escalating geopolitical tensions.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 10.79 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 1,680.52 from last Friday’s close of 1,691.31.  

The benchmark index, which opened 8.88 points lower at 1,682.43, moved between 1,685.52 and 1,675.64 during the day.  

In the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 760 to 402, while 454 counters were unchanged, 1,101 untraded and 12 suspended.

Turnover rose to 2.94 billion units worth RM2.64 billion from Friday’s 2.89 billion units worth RM2.60 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the US Navy is set to intercept vessels linked to Iranian ports, escalating geopolitical tensions and weighing on market sentiment.

“The renewed escalation drove Brent crude oil to rise above US$100 per barrel, keeping investor sentiment cautious and limiting appetite for equities,” he told Bernama.

On the domestic front, Thong said, the lack of buying interest continues to cap any meaningful upside, leaving the FBM KLCI vulnerable to further downside should external conditions deteriorate.

“Looking ahead, we expect volatility to persist in the near term, with developments in West Asia and fluctuations in crude oil prices remaining key drivers. In the absence of clear positive catalysts, the FBM KLCI is likely to remain in a consolidation phase, trading within the 1,660–1,690 range for the week,” he said.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank dropped 18 sen to RM10.98, Public Bank slid five sen to RM4.60, CIMB lost 13 sen to RM7.39, IHH Healthcare erased 10 sen to RM8.71, and Tenaga Nasional gained 10 sen to RM14.18.

On the most active list, MMAG and Zetrix AI rose half a sen each to four sen and 76 sen, respectively, Top Glove declined three sen to 77.5 sen, Bumi Armada added two sen to 40 sen, and Tanco shed one sen to RM1.64.

Among the top gainers, Nestle surged 90 sen to RM99.00, Petronas Dagangan garnered 50 sen to RM21.30, PMB Technology soared 27 sen to RM1.84, and Petronas Gas and Petronas Chemicals climbed 20 sen each to RM18.44 and RM6.02, respectively.

Of the top losers, Fraser and Neave tumbled 62 sen to RM29.18, Batu Kawan declined 40 sen to RM21.02, Hong Leong Bank reduced 38 sen to RM21.70, Hong Leong Financial gave up 22 sen to RM18.60, and Apollo Food erased 20 sen to RM5.70.

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index went down by 80.59 points to 12,179.07, the FBM Emas Index declined 79.39 points to 12,333.27, the FBM Mid 70 Index trimmed 124.12 points to 17,196.85, the FBM Emas Shariah Index shaved off 22.27 points to 12,267.06, and the FBM ACE Index edged down 19.07 points to 4,410.91.

 By sector, the Financial Services Index slid 285.77 points to 19,498.89, while the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 1.27 points to 187.18, the Energy Index perked up 18.45 points to 831.70, and the Plantation Index improved 1.64 points to 8,968.89.

The Main Market volume dropped to 1.54 billion units valued at RM2.40 billion from last Friday’s 1.74 billion units valued at RM2.36 billion.    

Warrants turnover rose to 980.67 million units worth RM131.27 million from 847.80 million units worth RM126.93 million last Friday.  

The ACE Market volume increased to 417.61 million units valued at RM111.03 million compared to 298.38 million units valued at RM110.80 million on Friday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 186.91 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (242.94 million), construction (137.90 million), technology (162.14 million), financial services (73.76 million), property (139.74 million), plantation (40.08 million), real estate investment trusts (15.29 million), closed-end fund (27,000), energy (246.15 million), healthcare (178.11 million), telecommunications and media (49.28 million), transportation and logistics (26.12 million), utilities (40.93 million), and business trusts (44,900). — Bernama