KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — Bursa Malaysia ended on a softer note today as investors engaged in profit-taking following the recent rebound in the local market, an analyst said.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined by 0.65 per cent, or 11.19 points, to 1,700.84 from last Friday’s close of 1,712.03.
The benchmark index opened 1.56 points lower at 1,710.47 and moved between 1,699.94 and 1,712.32 throughout the trading session.
Market breadth was negative, with decliners outnumbering gainers 560 to 481.
A total of 608 counters were unchanged, 1,649 untraded, and 14 suspended.
Turnover slipped to 3.29 billion units worth RM2.40 billion from 3.45 billion units worth RM3.79 billion on Friday.
Regionally, key indices closed broadly higher, supported by strong buying interest in technology stocks as investors continued to position for long-term growth opportunities arising from artificial intelligence (AI), said Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng.
He said strong capital inflows into the technology sector reflected investors’ confidence that demand for AI-related hardware and semiconductor solutions remain resilient.
On the domestic front, Thong remained cautious as geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran remain unresolved, with peace negotiations remaining fragile.
“Nevertheless, the local market continues to be supported by bargain-hunting in selected blue-chip counters and improving sentiment across regional markets.
“Overall, we expect the FBM KLCI to remain range-bound in the near term, with the benchmark index likely to trade between 1,690 and 1,720 this week,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank shed 22 sen to RM10.96, Public Bank eased 5.0 sen to RM4.90, Tenaga was flat at RM14.50, CIMB declined 2.0 sen to RM7.63, and IHH Healthcare was 9.0 sen easier at RM8.71.
Of the most active stocks, Tanco edged down one sen to 13 sen, Zetrix AI rose half a sen to 78.5 sen, Dagang NeXchange was flat at 46.5 sen, GIIB slid 4.5 sen to 42 sen, and SKP Resources lost half a sen to 27.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, UMS Integration rose 32 sen to RM9.02, SAM Engineering jumped 29 sen to RM5.19, Skyechip surged 27 sen to RM3.36, TMK Chemical soared 21 sen to RM2.75, and Kee Ming garnered 12 sen to RM1.47.
As for the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries slipped RM1.06 to RM48.84, Nestle declined 92 sen to RM95.30, United Plantations sank 70 sen to RM31.96, PPB slid 50 sen to RM9.62, and Allianz fell 40 sen to RM21.20.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dipped 78.26 points to 12,602.79, the FBM Top 100 Index slumped 83.01 points to 12,436.61, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 73.17 points to 12,485.49.
The FBM Mid 70 Index tumbled 125.48 points to 18,037.10 but the FBM ACE Index put on 0.13 of a point to 4,792.65.
By sector, the Plantation Index slid 16.16 points to 8,857.06, the Financial Services Index declined 203.32 points to 20,001.26, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.78 points to 188.79, while the Energy Index slipped 3.41 points to 762.86.
The Main Market volume narrowed to 1.65 billion units valued at RM2.06 billion from 2.12 billion units worth RM3.51 billion on Friday.
Warrants turnover expanded to 1.07 billion units worth RM147.22 million versus 717.45 million units valued at RM72.58 million previously.
The ACE Market volume trimmed to 559.21 million units valued at RM195.49 million compared with 608.27 million units worth RM205.51 million on Friday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 192.38 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (341.96 million), construction (101.26 million), technology (356.87 million), financial services (52.03 million), property (312.34 million), plantation (38.34 million), real estate investment trusts (17.42 million), closed-end fund (489,900), energy (52.76 million), healthcare (90.50 million), telecommunications and media (28.58 million), transportation and logistics (31.66 million), utilities (37.77 million), and business trusts (11,300). — Bernama
