Bursa Malaysia ends lower as oil slide weighs on sentiment

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 — Bursa Malaysia closed lower on Wednesday, weighed down by profit-taking in selected heavyweights and weaker sentiment towards petrochemical stocks as oil prices continued to slide, said an analyst.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 7.07 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 1,676.43, from Tuesday’s close of 1,683.50.

The benchmark index opened 1.31 points lower at 1,682.19 and moved between 1,675.15 and 1,685.37 throughout the session.

Market breadth was almost even, with losers outpacing gainers 549 to 519. A total of 577 counters were unchanged, 1,226 untraded and 27 suspended.

Turnover narrowed to 3.20 billion units worth RM2.99 billion, from 3.57 billion units valued at RM3.15 billion on Tuesday.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said crude oil prices fell after Donald Trump commented that the United States and Iranian representatives had held “very good” talks at the United Nations.

He said the remarks raised hopes of progress towards de-escalation, easing the geopolitical risk premium in oil prices.

Mohd Sedek also said investors have remained cautious ahead of the expected meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the outcome likely to influence sentiment around global trade and economic growth.

“The combination of profit-taking and softer energy prices kept the index under pressure, although the broader market remained focused on geopolitical developments and the direction of oil prices,” he said.

Berjaya Research Sdn Bhd head of research Kenneth Leong told Bernama that the market index is expected to remain range-bound in the near term as investors await further clarity on developments in West Asia. 

Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose two sen to RM10.14, Public Bank eased one sen to RM4.83, CIMB added three sen to RM7.93, Tenaga Nasional firmed four sen to RM13.14, while IHH Healthcare remained unchanged at RM8.

Top active counters included Zetrix AI, which fell two sen to 18.5 sen, Jaks Resources lost half a sen to 16.5 sen, V.S Industry expanded two sen to 25 sen, Velesto Energy declined one sen to 23 sen, and Capital A inched down 1.5 sen to 25.5 sen.

Among the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries was RM1.38 higher RM44.58, Nestle ticked up 34 sen to RM89.50, KESM Industries strengthened 32 sen to RM4.33, Ayer edged up 27 sen to RM7.47 and Petronas Gas appreciated 22 sen to RM17.50.

The top losers include Dutch Lady, which dropped 50 sen to RM30.40; United Plantations and Hong Leong Industries erased 34 sen each to RM33.20 and RM16.72; Sarawak Oil Palms weakened 24 sen to RM5.85, and Kuala Lumpur Kepong gave up 20 sen to RM22.50.

On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index decreased 10.60 points to 17,833.80, the FBM Emas Index fell 36.79 points to 12,477.35, the FBM Top 100 Index inched down 40.28 points to 12,267.60, the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 6.16 points to 12,320.22, and the FBM ACE Index advanced 58.30 points to 5,247.41.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index put on 0.05 of a point to 184.95, the Energy Index climbed 5.80 of a point to 50.45, while the Financial Services Index trimmed 156.90 points to 19,577.78, and the Plantation Index slipped 46.22 points to 9,409.80.

Main Market volume narrowed to 1.95 billion units worth RM2.67 billion, from 2.12 billion units valued at RM2.78 billion on Tuesday.

Warrant turnover decreased to 788.71 million units worth RM114.81 million, from 910.51 million units valued at RM129.49 million previously.

ACE Market volume slipped to 461.73 million units valued at RM199.84 million, from 544.47 million units worth RM238.48 million on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, consumer products and services counters accounted for 271.73 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (328.58 million), construction (157.57 million), technology (543.73 million), financial services (64.89 million), property (119.70 million), plantation (29.58 million), real estate investment trusts (17.72 million), closed-end fund (36,400), energy (199.34 million), healthcare (97.30 million), telecommunications and media (38.00 million), transportation and logistics (31.82 million), utilities (51.29 million), and business trusts (9,700). — Bernama