Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) trended lower due to the lack of buying support as most key regional indices ended in negative territory amid cautious trading ahead of the Aug 1 deadline for potential US trade tariffs.
“Investors are wary of various external factors given the increasing regional market volatility and uncertainties on global economic prospects.
“We reckon the short-term outlook to remain jittery although bargain hunting may prevail, hence, we expect the FBM KLCI to trend range-bound, hovering within 1,510-1,540 for the remainder of the week with immediate support at 1,510 and resistance at 1,530,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Sedek Jantan said Malaysia’s June consumer price index by the statistics department offered a temporary reprieve, with June’s headline inflation moderating further to 1.1% year-on-year from 1.2% in May, which is the softest print in 2025.
“Therefore, the FBM KLCI registered a marginal decline for the second consecutive session, underscoring a risk-averse market posture amid divergent sectoral performances.
“This disinflationary trend provided a tailwind for consumer-oriented equities, particularly within retail trade and consumer discretionary segments, as market participants priced in the prospect of sustained household consumption despite persistent fiscal uncertainties surrounding the expansion of the sales and service tax and a lacklustre external demand environment,” he added.
On the capital flows front, foreign institutional investors reverted to net selling positions yesterday, after a brief interlude of net buying.
“This reversal suggests sustained risk-off sentiment linked to external trade policy risks, with particular market sensitivity to the impending deadline of Malaysia’s bilateral tariff negotiations with the US, a key event risk that could shape investor positioning in the near-term,” he said.
Regionally, market sentiment received a slight lift from Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng Index posted its third successive daily gain, advancing 0.5% to close at 25,130.03, the highest level in over a year.
Elsewhere, Singapore’s Straits Times Index declined 0.24% to 4,196.98, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.27% to 3,169.94, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 retreated 0.11% to 39,774.92.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI erased 5.19 points to 1,519.40 from yesterday’s close of 1,524.59.
The benchmark index opened 1.70 points higher at 1,526.29 at the opening bell and moved between 1,518.75 and 1,527.90 throughout the trading session.
The market breadth was negative, with 591 losers overtaking 412 gainers and 472 counters unchanged, while 1,004 were untraded and seven suspended.
Turnover fell to 2.82 billion shares worth RM2.05 billion from 3.5 billion shares worth RM2.68 billion yesterday.
Of the heavyweight stocks, Maybank and Public Bank perked 1 sen each to RM9.53 and RM4.31 respectively, CIMB earned 3 sen to RM6.55, Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM13.78, while IHH Healthcare dropped 3 sen to RM6.60.
Among the most active stocks, Tanco was up 0.5 sen to 91 sen, Zetrix was down 1 sen to 92.5 sen, NexG was flat at 50.5 sen and Pharmaniaga lost 0.5 sen to 21.5 sen.
On the broader index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 42.20 points to 11,419.73, the FBMT 100 Index shed 42.88 points to 11,181.94, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 62.36 points to 11,447.35.
The FBM 70 Index dipped 84.01 points to 16,555.87, while the FBM ACE Index trimmed 13.08 points to 4,624.60.
By sector, the energy index edged up 0.67 of a point to 740.17, but the financial services index decreased 9.74 points to 17,310.67, the plantation index slipped 24.89 points to 7,396.15, and the industrial products and services index eased 1.60 points to 154.04.
The Main Market volume narrowed to 1.18 billion units valued at RM1.73 billion from 1.38 billion units valued at RM2.27 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover fell to 1.31 billion units worth RM205.15 million from 1.75 billion units worth RM265.26 million previously.
The ACE Market volume dropped to 322.4 million units valued at RM109.22 million from 363 million units valued at RM147.63 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 176.58 million shares traded on the Main Market; industrial products and services (199.34 million), construction (107.34 million), technology (219.35 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (64.74 million), property (167.49 million), plantation (10.88 million), REITs (22.49 million), closed-end fund (5,000), energy (50.69 million), healthcare (76.35 million), telecommunications and media (39.95 million), transportation and logistics (24.88 million), utilities (22.21 million), and business trusts (308,300).