Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices ended broadly lower as geopolitical tensions escalated over potential involvement of the US in the Israel-Iran conflict.
Risk appetite declined amid reports that US president Donald Trump had met with senior advisers to review military options, including possible strikes on Iran.
“Locally, we maintain our cautious stance due to the escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
“We are hopeful that Israel and Iran will engage in peace talks to ease tensions and restore confidence among local investors,” he told Bernama.
Thong noted that buying opportunities may emerge in oil and gas and plantation stocks.
“For the moment, we maintain our weekly FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) target at the 1,500-1,530 range,” he said.
Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd’s head of investment research Sedek Jantan said on the local front, attention turned to the progress of the US-Malaysia trade negotiations.
Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz and his delegation’s arrival in Washington to engage with US trade representative Jamieson Greer and senior officials marks a pivotal moment in addressing tariff-related uncertainties that have clouded investor outlook in recent weeks.
“Despite the cautious backdrop, selected domestically oriented sectors saw notable interest.
“Consumer discretionary and telecommunications stocks led gainers, underscoring investor confidence in Malaysia’s underlying economic resilience,” said Sedek.
Adding to the constructive narrative, Malaysia’s sharp rise in the latest International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR) 2025 – advancing 11 spots to 23rd globally – reinforces the country’s reform momentum and macroeconomic credibility.
“This supports our positive medium-term outlook, particularly for the construction sector, where structural themes such as hyperscale data centre investments and the Johor-Singapore special economic zone are expected to serve as key catalysts for growth,” he added.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI reversed earlier losses to settle 0.31 of-a-point or 0.02%, higher to 1,511.95 from yesterday’s close of 1,511.64.
The benchmark index opened 0.25 of-a-point higher at 1,511.89 and fluctuated between 1,509.42 and 1,512.96 throughout the trading session.
The broader market was, however, negative, with 488 decliners outnumbering 361 gainers.
A total of 503 counters were unchanged, 1,054 were untraded and 13 were suspended.
Turnover declined to 2.42 billion units valued at RM1.79 billion compared with yesterday’s 3.03 billion units worth RM1.92 billion.
Among heavyweights, Maybank gained 7 sen to RM9.62, Tenaga Nasional dipped 8 sen to RM14.22, Public Bank added 2 sen to RM4.24, CIMB slid 1 sen to RM6.65, and IHH Healthcare eased 4 sen to RM6.85.
As for the most active stocks, Tanco Holdings inched up 0.5 sen to 98 sen, SNS Network Technology gained 4 sen to 53.5 sen, Magma Group rose 3 sen to 46 sen, NexG shed 1.5 sen to 34.5 sen, and Alam Maritim Resources slid 0.5 sen to 3 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was down by 1.47 points to 11,301.81 and the FBMT 100 Index dropped 2.44 points to 11,080.10.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 8.03 points to 11,310.34, the FBM ACE Index slipped 1.63 points to 4,441.34, and the FBM 70 Index shrank 22.21 points to 16,200.79.
Sector-wise, the plantation index dipped 12.70 points to 7,238.04, but the energy index rose 1.84 points to 740.61.
The financial services index climbed 24.86 points to 17,421.43, but the industrial products and services index eased by 0.09 of-a-point to 150.06.
The Main Market volume narrowed to 1.06 billion units valued at RM1.55 billion from 1.19 billion units worth RM1.61 billion registered at yesterday’s close.
Warrants turnover shrank to 1.16 billion units worth RM180.99 million versus 1.62 billion units valued at RM245.78 million previously.
The ACE Market volume declined to 194 million units valued at RM60.65 million against 210.30 million units worth RM71.29 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 187.75 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (133.44 million), construction (78.61 million), technology (158.98 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (62.21 million), property (112.25 million), plantation (14.12 million), REITs (23.75 million), closed end fund (9,900), energy (124.29 million), healthcare (72.78 million), telecommunications and media (35.20 million), transportation and logistics (29.70 million), utilities (31.23 million), and business trusts (24,900).