Bursa Malaysia Closes Mixed

By Zarul Effendi Razali

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended mixed today, with the benchmark index curtailing its recent rally as continued selling in selected heavyweights -- led by Tenaga Nasional -- limited gains, an analyst said.

The power utility company closed 58 sen or 3.97 per cent lower at RM14.02, contributing a total of 5.80 points towards the benchmark index’s decline, with 33.31 million shares traded.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped by 1.22 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 1,548.99 from Wednesday’s close of 1,550.21. 

The benchmark index opened 4.07 points lower at 1,546.14 and hovered between 1,540.35 and 1,548.99 throughout the day.

The broader market was broadly positive with 629 gainers trouncing 389 decliners, while 468 counters were unchanged, 902 untraded and 11 suspended.

Turnover rose to 5.09 billion units worth RM2.94 billion against 3.11 billion units worth RM2.38 billion on Wednesday.

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd’s head of investment research, Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBMKLCI closed lower as investors’ sentiment turned slightly cautious amid profit-taking activities, despite the broad-based strength in the wider market.

“The decline in the benchmark index reflected the mixed performance among blue-chip counters, weighed down by lingering export uncertainties and renewed external trade volatility,” he said.

In contrast, Mohd Sedek said broader segments of the domestic market demonstrated notable resilience.

“The Bursa Malaysia Technology Index surged 4.0 per cent, underpinned by robust buying interest in the semiconductor and electronics-related counters, in line with the tech-led gains on Wall Street. The Industrial Products sector also recorded gains, reflecting selective sectoral rotation,” he added.

Among other heavyweights, Maybank gained 4.0 sen to RM9.80, CIMB and CelcomDigi added 1.0 sen each to RM6.79 and RM3.92, respectively, and IHH Healthcare improved 2.0 sen to RM6.85, while Public Bank fell 2.0 sen to RM4.30.

As for the most active stocks, Borneo Oil was flat at half-a-sen, while Zetrix AI, NEXG and Tanco added 1.0 sen each to 97.5 sen, 39 sen and 90 sen, respectively.

-- BERNAMA