Bursa Ends Lower Amid Volatility, Wall Street Sell-off

KUALA LUMPUR: The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) extended its decline at today’s close, reflecting increased volatility and mirroring the sharp sell-off in US equities as global risk aversion intensified.

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Sedek Jantan noted that concerns over US economic prospects deepened as Wall Street economists revised down their growth forecasts for 2025, citing the larger-than-expected impact of tariffs.

He said growth projections have been lowered from 2.2% to 1.7% by year end, with recession risks now estimated at one-in-five.

“However, some analysts suggest that the White House retains the flexibility to recalibrate its policies if economic conditions deteriorate further,” he told Bernama.

Back home, Sedek said reflecting these global concerns, investor sentiment in Malaysia turned cautious, leading to broad-based selling pressure.

During the morning session, the FBM KLCI breached the 1,520-support level, briefly touching an intraday low of 1,519 before rebounding to 1,520.

“Consumer stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off among FBM KLCI constituents, as investors assessed the potential spillover effects of a US recession and slowing Chinese demand on global markets.

“The prevailing uncertainty prompted sustained risk aversion, keeping market participants on edge,” he added.

At 5pm, the FBM KLCI declined 16.31 points, or 1.06%, to 1,520.15 from yesterday’s close of 1,536.46.

The market bellwether opened 10.45 points lower at 1,526.01 and fluctuated between 1,514.48 and 1,527.19 throughout the day.

On the broader market, decliners thumped advancers 910 to 200, while 384 counters were unchanged, 880 untraded, and seven suspended.

Turnover advanced to 3.71 billion units worth RM3.29 billion from 3.10 billion units worth RM2.40 billion yesterday.

Heavyweights CIMB lost 26 sen to RM7.26, Sunway fell 15 sen to RM4.42, Tenaga Nasional shed 14 sen to RM13.40, while 99 Speed Mart and Press Metal dipped nine sen each to RM1.97 and RM4.93 respectively.

As for the actives, Nationgate and NexG rose one sen each to RM1.15 and 27 sen respectively, MyEG decreased one sen to 89.5 sen, while Sapura Energy and Kinergy Advancement were flat at 3.5 sen and 33 sen respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined by 145.21 points to 11,267.89, the FBMT 100 Index slid 138.96 points to 11,058.87, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 154.22 points to 10,874.01, the FBM ACE Index shrank 82.21 points to 4,440.13, and the FBM 70 Index tumbled 280.60 points to 15,845.39.

Sector-wise, the financial services index slumped 199.16 points to 18,769.29, the industrial products and services index eased 2.75 points to 150.90, the energy index lost 12.92 points to 695.11, and the plantation index was 77.48 points lower at 7,341.23.

The Main Market volume expanded to 2.03 billion units worth RM3.02 billion from 1.67 billion units worth RM2.14 billion on Monday.

Warrants turnover improved to 1.28 billion units worth RM144.08 million against 1.07 billion units worth RM143.69 million previously.

The ACE Market volume increased to 397.96 million units valued at RM129.01 million versus 356.70 million units valued at RM121.99 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 283.99 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (360.39 million), construction (151.31 million), technology (282.82 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (161.52 million), property (245.25 million), plantation (39.28 million), REITs (29.39 million), closed/fund (48,200), energy (231.09 million), healthcare (121.31 million), telecommunications and media (35 million), transportation and logistics (23.19 million), utilities (65.31 million), and business trusts (563,300).