Bursa ends lower amid broad-based selling

Bursa Malaysia experienced a week of declining stock prices amid widespread selling, mirroring the negative trend seen in broader regional markets. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI, the country's key index, fell by 19.28 points, or 1.17%, to 1,616.58 by the end of the week, down from a closing value of 1,635.86 the previous trading day.

The index opened 15.31 points lower at 1,620.55 on Monday, reaching a peak of 1,620.55 and a bottom of 1,610.80 in the afternoon. The majority of stocks traded declined, with losers outnumbering gainers by a significant margin of 964 to 273. A total of 404 stocks remained unchanged, while 1,132 were not traded, and 10 were suspended.

Despite the overall market decline, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's equity research vice-president, Thong Pak Leng, expressed cautious optimism. He attributed the downturn to external uncertainties rather than domestic economic issues and highlighted positive signs such as Bank Negara Malaysia's decision to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate at 2.75% and forecasts of economic growth exceeding 5% in 2026. He suggested that this could encourage cautious investment in blue-chip stocks with sound fundamentals.

Among the stocks that saw a decline, Maybank fell four sen to RM10.12, Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional each dropped six sen to RM4.90 and RM13.04, respectively. CIMB also decreased by nine sen to RM7.06, while IHH Healthcare declined by two sen to RM7.70. Zetrix AI, V.S. Industry, Top Glove, Inari Amertron, and NationGate were among the few stocks that increased in value.

The broader indices also saw a decrease. The FBM Emas Index dropped 169.37 points to 11,965.47, the FBM Top 100 Index fell 163.88 points to 11,798.45, and the FBM Mid 70 Index dropped 333.85 points to 17,020.88. The financial services index, which includes Maybank and CIMB, fell 171.85 points to 18,957.06, while the plantation index declined 57.87 points to 8,726.36.

The Main Market trading volume rose to 1.98 billion units worth RM3.17 billion, up from 1.89 billion units worth RM3.29 billion the previous day. On the other hand, warrant trading volume decreased to 1.21 billion units worth RM145.53 million.