Bursa Malaysia ends marginally lower amid lack of fresh catalysts

On September 28, Bursa Malaysia closed slightly lower, according to an analysis highlighting limited catalysts driving investor buying interest. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index slipped by 1.60 points, or 0.09 percent, to 1,670.02, down from its previous close of 1,671.62. Initially opening 0.93 points higher at 1,672.55, the benchmark index ranged between 1,668.61 and 1,674.11 throughout the trading session.

Negative market breadth was observed, with 748 stocks declining versus 388 that gained, while 517 remained unchanged, 1,271 were untraded, and 91 were suspended. The trading volume dwindled to 3.11 billion units, valued at RM2.40 billion, compared to 4.07 billion units, valued at RM2.69 billion the previous day. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's equity research vice-president, Thong Pak Leng, expressed a cautious outlook, citing ongoing external challenges and foreign selling dampening near-term upside.

However, he noted that the market correction had rendered selected blue-chip stocks more appealing, potentially luring bargain hunters, particularly those with strong fundamentals. Leong from Berjaya Research Sdn Bhd anticipated the FBM KLCI to hover within the 1,660-1,690 band for the week. He suggested that market focus would shift towards the US job openings and consumer confidence figures released later that day, which could sway expectations of the Federal Reserve's policy trajectory and global risk sentiment.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank dropped six sen to RM10.16, Public Bank declined one sen to RM4.79, CIMB rose by nine sen to RM7.99, Tenaga Nasional increased two sen to RM13.16, and IHH Healthcare gained two sen to RM8.01. Active trades saw Zetrix AI remain flat at 19 sen, Jaks Resources climbing 1.5 sen to 18.5 sen, ACE Market debutant Evocom falling five sen to 13 sen, Aimax gaining half a sen to one sen, and Inari Amertron slipping 11 sen to RM2.55.

The top gainers included Hong Leong Bank (RM23.36), Hong Leong Financial (RM18.90), Ayer Holdings (RM7.60), Grand Central (42 sen), and Solarvest (RM4.16). Conversely, Malaysian Pacific Industries experienced the steepest decline, falling RM1.98 to RM42.20, followed by United Plantations (RM31.60), Fraser & Neave (RM22.22), Hong Leong Industries (RM16.66), and Kelington (RM8.72).

The FBM Mid 70 Index fell 157.14 points to 17,687.77, the FBM Emas Index dropped 41.85 points to 12,414.79, the FBM Top 100 Index decreased 36.51 points to 12,206.95, the FBM Emas Shariah Index reduced 63.91 points to 12,242.32, and the FBM ACE Index slipped 42.25 points to 5,490.61. Sector-wise, Financial Services saw a 47.89-point gain to 19,598.38, Industrial Products and Services dropped 1.30 points to 182.80, Energy eased 0.01 points to 861.82, and Plantation declined 116.38 points to 9,218.49.

Main Market turnover dropped to 1.69 billion units, valued at RM2.05 billion, from 2.53 billion units, valued at RM2.24 billion the prior Friday. Warrants turnover shrank to 944.79 million units, valued at RM156.45 million, down from 999.87 million units, valued at RM180.99 million. ACE Market turnover fell to 469.48 million units, worth RM190.74 million, compared to 539.02 million units, valued at RM264.01 million.

Consumer products and services stocks dominated trading at 263.69 million shares, while industrial products and services accounted for 235.10 million, construction for 204.54 million, technology for 465.42 million, financial services for 42.34 million, property for 126.72 million, plantation for 31.21 million, REITs for 11.37 million, closed-end funds for 42,600, energy for 121.70 million, healthcare for 95.11 million, telecommunications and media for 17.63 million, transportation and logistics for 49.33 million, utilities for 35.55 million, and business trusts for 56,900 shares.