IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Sedek Jantan said the local bourse exhibited another tepid trading session, with turnover remaining below two billion units compared with the average daily volume of around three billion units.
“While external data was supportive, the lack of sustained domestic participation limited upside momentum,” he told Bernama, adding that the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) has yielded a year-to-date return of 2.30%.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI fell 4.42 points to 1,680.11 from yesterday’s close of 1,684.53.
The barometer index, which opened 2.75 points lower at an intraday high of 1,681.78, slipped to a low of 1,671.59 during the mid-morning session, before moving sideways through the afternoon session and gaining some momentum towards the close.
The market breadth was negative with decliners outpacing gainers 534 to 462, while 552 counters were unchanged, 1,138 untraded and 41 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.89 billion units worth RM1.94 billion compared to 1.88 billion units worth RM1.9 billion recorded yesterday.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank dropped two sen to RM10.48, CIMB added two sen to RM8.25, Public Bank was flat at RM4.54, Tenaga Nasional lost six sen to RM13.72 and IHH gained 15 sen to RM8.75.
On the most active list, Zetrix AI and MrDIY shed one sen each to 81 sen and RM1.53 respectively, Pharmaniaga lost 0.5 sen to 28.5 sen, Inari Amertron dipped two sen to RM1.68, while Tanco rose one sen to RM1.16.
Among the top gainers, Nestle garnered 60 sen to RM114, Dutch Lady gained 20 sen to RM31.0, Magna Prima soared 14.5 sen to 72 sen, Lysaght put on 14 sen to RM2.55 and Sime Darby climbed 11 sen to RM2.15.
As for the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries fell 64 sen to RM32.24, Hong Leong Bank decreased 40 sen to RM22.14, F&N slipped 30 sen to RM35.50, Petronas Gas slid 26 sen to RM18.14 and United Plantations eased 18 sen to RM30.06.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slid 24.87 points to 12,303.67, the FBMT Top 100 Index declined 28.98 points to 12,107.41, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 23.28 points to 12,096.29.
The FBM Mid 70 Index went down 27.06 points to 16,803.39 while the FBM ACE Index rose 11.65 points to 4,872.95.
Sector-wise, the financial services index fell 63.44 points to 19,703.35, the plantation index shaved 17.30 points to 8,324.89, the energy index slid 1.42 points to 767.31, and the industrial products and services index eased 0.21 of-a-point to 173.62.
The Main Market volume improved to 1.29 billion units worth RM1.81 billion from 1.18 billion units worth RM1.76 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover dwindled to 314.31 million units worth RM30.39 million against 423.74 million units worth RM47.03 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume advanced to 285.56 million units valued at RM93.67 million versus 272.99 million units valued at RM87.94 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 263.31 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (178.54 million), construction (89.71 million), technology (199.12 million), financial services (68.54 million), property (192.36 million), plantation (20.82 million), real estate investment trusts (15.61 million), closed-end fund (200), energy (74.34 million), healthcare (82.84 million), telecommunications and media (34.93 million), transportation and logistics (33.39 million), utilities (33.76 million), and business trusts (104,900).
Bursa Malaysia and its subsidiaries will be closed tomorrow, Jan 1, 2026, for the New Year’s Day holiday.