UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Sedek Jantan said investors are recalibrating their views on the full details of Budget 2025 while preparing for the upcoming US earnings season.
“Today’s performance was also influenced by US stocks, which retreated slightly from their record highs yesterday, as some of the momentum in Wall Street’s extended rally began to fade,” he told Bernama.
In morning trade, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) touched 1,648, driven by gains in telecommunications, financial, and consumer stocks.
Additionally, the technology sector also posted strong growth with the Bursa Malaysia Technology Index rising for five consecutive days.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Asian stocks also ended lower following a negative cue from Wall Street as investors remained cautious due to ongoing uncertainty over interest rates and the US election.
“As for the local bourse, the benchmark index is likely to trade sideways, with support holding at key levels at 1,640 followed by 1,630.
“Factors such as earnings announcements and potential shifts in interest rates are keeping investors on edge,” he said.
In the absence of new catalysts, he said the FBM KLCI is expected to continue trading within the 1,640-1,660 range for the remainder of the week, representing key support and resistance.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI fell 3.14 points, or 0.19% to 1,642.54 from yesterday’s close of 1,645.68.
The benchmark index opened 1.78 points higher at 1,647.46 and moved between 1,642.35 and 1,648.31 throughout the day.
On the broader market, decliners surpassed advancers, 509 to 460, with 540 counters unchanged, 972 untraded, and 13 suspended.
Turnover declined to 2.67 billion units valued at RM2.49 billion versus 3.02 billion units valued at RM2.19 billion yesterday.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and CIMB Group slid 4 sen to RM10.62 and RM8.16, respectively, Public Bank edged down 2 sen to RM4.55, Tenaga Nasional dropped 18 sen to RM14.46, and IHH Healthcare added 3 sen to RM7.23.
As for the active counters, Niche Capital Emas gained 1 sen to 17.5 sen, MyEG and Alpha IVF eased 0.5 sen to 88.5 sen and 36 sen, respectively, while Aizo Group was flat at 14.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index inched down 2.2 points to 12,366.27, and the FBM ACE Index lost 7.03 points to 5,101.91.
In contrast, the FBMT 100 Index edged up 0.33 of-a-point to 12,071.59, the FBM 70 Index garnered 87.36 points to 17,830.3 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index notched up 24.83 points to 12,300.47.
By sector, the financial services index dipped 22.68 points to 19,454.52, and the energy index shaved 1.75 points to 859.33.
However, the industrial products and services index climbed 0.18 of-a-point to 177.28, and the plantation index rose 35.69 points to 7,276.86.
The Main Market volume was unchanged at 1.39 billion units while the value was higher at RM2.23 billion against RM1.84 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover fell to 894.24 million units valued at RM113.57 million from 1.11 billion units valued at RM171.12 million previously.
The ACE Market volume dwindled to 376.79 million units worth RM138.19 million versus 512.6 million units worth RM173.23 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 285.63 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (276.26 million), construction (110.59 million), technology (190.36 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (77.45 million), property (150.57 million), plantation (18.55 million), REITs (21.42 million), closed/fund (304,500), energy (94.45 million), healthcare (68.99 million), telecommunications and media (27.13 million), transportation and logistics (30.84 million), utilities (41.8 million), and business trusts (717,900).