Bursa Malaysia's Key Index Ends Lower On Selling By Foreign Funds

By Nurunnasihah Ahmad Rashid

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s main index finished lower today as selling by foreign funds persisted, amid the better performance in most regional markets. 

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 8.84 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 1,582.76 compared with last Friday’s close of 1,591.60.

The benchmark index opened 0.88 of-a-point higher at 1,592.48, marking its intraday high, and subsequently slid to a low of 1,580.94 during mid-afternoon session.

In the broader market, losers thumped gainers 715 to 313, while 465 counters were unchanged, 815 untraded and 10 suspended.

Turnover shrank to 2.98 billion units worth RM1.95 billion from 3.27 billion units worth RM2.40 billion last Friday.

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI closed lower for the third consecutive day, with losses led by the telecommunications and utilities sectors.

“Despite the weaker local market, Asian equities edged higher on Monday, fuelled by strong performance in Hong Kong's technology sector, with continued investment following the surge in interest after DeepSeek.

“However, with the earnings season underway, Alibaba and Baidu are set to report their results this week, which could provide insights into the potential of artificial intelligence-driven revenue growth,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, Mohd Sedek said robust economic growth data from Japan contrasted with the weak US retail sales, boosting the yen against the dollar.

“The US market will be closed today due to President’s Day. Although the immediate threat of reciprocal US tariffs has been postponed until April, concerns remain over potential levies based on value-added taxes in other countries,” he added.

Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.06 per cent to 39,174.25, Singapore’s Straits Times Index improved 0.71 per cent to 3,904.85, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 0.75 per cent to 2,610.42, China’s Shanghai Composite Index perked up 0.27 per cent to 3,355.83, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gave up earlier gains to end 0.02 per cent lower at 22,616.23.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the local benchmark index hovering near the 1,580 support level, posing a risk of further weakness.

“With investors remaining cautious ahead of the fourth-quarter 2024 results due by the end of February, we recommend reducing trading exposure and keeping funds on standby for clearer market signals.

“We anticipate the FBM KLCI to fluctuate within the 1,570-1,600 range this week,” he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweight counters, Maybank was flat at RM10.56, CIMB dropped five sen to RM8.30, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare decreased two sen each to RM4.47 and RM7.25 respectively. Tenaga Nasional added two sen to RM13.92.

ACE Market debutant Richtech Digital led the active counters, gaining seven sen to 32 sen with 223.13 million shares transacted, Dialog eased one sen to RM1.56, and TWL Holdings eased half-a-sen to two sen. 

Ingenieur Gudang was half-a-sen higher at 5.5 sen while Harvest Miracle was flat at 15 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index tumbled 61.49 points to 12,045.12, the FBMT 100 Index was 61.99 points lower at 11,751.96, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 73.68 points to 11,773.83.

The FBM 70 Index slid 79.56 points to 17,791.67 and the FBM ACE Index dipped 5.83 points to 5,128.95.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index fell 53.16 points to 19,289.48, the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 0.07 of-a-point to 163.92, the Plantation Index declined 21.98 points to 7,432.94, and the Energy Index eased 0.26 of-a-point to 798.29.

The Main Market volume narrowed to 1.34 billion units worth RM1.64 billion from 1.50 billion units worth RM2.10 billion last Friday.

Warrants turnover trimmed to 1.01 billion units worth RM91.84 million against 1.21 billion units worth RM123.59 million previously.

The ACE Market volume expanded to 623.75 million units valued at RM218.33 million versus 555.34 million units valued at RM179.51 million on Friday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 232.58 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (300.57 million), construction (106.25 million), technology (142.57 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (46.79 million), property (148.11 million), plantation (13.18 million), REITs (13.56 million), closed/fund (21,300), energy (174.41 million), healthcare (73.75 million), telecommunications and media (20.04 million), transportation and logistics (48.11 million), utilities (25.78 million), and business trusts (43,400).

-- BERNAMA