Bursa Malaysia Declines For Second Day On Weak Sentiment

By Harizah Hanim Mohamed

KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed 0.34 per cent lower on Tuesday, marking its second straight day of decline, as the lack of buying support and absence of strong cues from key regional indices continued to weigh on sentiment.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) erased 5.19 points to 1,519.40 from yesterday’s close of 1,524.59.

The benchmark index opened 1.70 points higher at 1,526.29 at the opening bell and moved between 1,518.75 and 1,527.90 throughout the trading session.

The market breadth was negative, with 591 losers overtaking 412 gainers and 472 counters unchanged, while 1,004 were untraded and seven suspended.

Turnover fell to 2.82 billion shares worth RM2.05 billion from 3.5 billion shares worth RM2.68 billion on Monday.  

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI trended lower due to the lack of buying support as most key regional indices ended in negative territory amid cautious trading ahead of the Aug 1 deadline for potential US trade tariffs.

“Investors are wary of various external factors given the increasing regional market volatility and uncertainties on global economic prospects.

“We reckon the short-term outlook to remain jittery although bargain hunting may prevail, hence, we expect the FBM KLCI to trend range-bound hovering within 1,510-1,540 for the remainder of the week with immediate support at 1,510 and resistance at 1,530,” he told Bernama.

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said Malaysia’s June Consumer Price Index by the Department of Statistics Malaysia offered a temporary reprieve, with June’s headline inflation moderating further to 1.1 per cent year-on-year from 1.2 per cent in May, which is the softest print in 2025.

“Therefore, the FBM KLCI registered a marginal decline for the second consecutive session, underscoring a risk-averse market posture amid divergent sectoral performances.

“This disinflationary trend provided a tailwind for consumer-oriented equities, particularly within retail trade and consumer discretionary segments, as market participants priced in the prospect of sustained household consumption despite persistent fiscal uncertainties surrounding the expansion of the Sales and Service Tax and a lacklustre external demand environment,” he added.

On the capital flows front, foreign institutional investors reverted to net selling positions yesterday, after a brief interlude of net buying.

“This reversal suggests sustained risk-off sentiment linked to external trade policy risks, with particular market sensitivity to the impending deadline of Malaysia’s bilateral tariff negotiations with the United States, a key event risk that could shape investor positioning in the near term,” he said.

Regionally, market sentiment received a slight lift from Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng Index posted its third successive daily gain, advancing 0.5 per cent to close at 25,130.03, the highest level in over a year.

Elsewhere, Singapore’s Straits Times Index declined 0.24 per cent to 4,196.98, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.27 per cent to 3,169.94, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 retreated 0.11 per cent to 39,774.92.

Of the heavyweight stocks, Maybank and Public Bank perked one sen each to RM9.53 and RM4.31, CIMB earned three sen to RM6.55, Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM13.78 while IHH Healthcare dropped three sen to RM6.60

Among the most active stocks, Tanco up half-a-sen to 91 sen, Zetrix down one sen to 92.5 sen, NexG was flat at 50.5 sen and Pharmaniaga lost half-a-sen to 21.5 sen.

On the broader index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 42.20 points to 11,419.73, the FBMT 100 Index shed 42.88 points to 11,181.94, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 62.36 points to 11,447.35.

The FBM 70 Index dipped 84.01 points to 16,555.87, while the FBM ACE Index trimmed 13.08 points to 4,624.60.

By sector, the Energy Index edged up 0.67 of a point to 740.17, but, the Financial Services Index decreased 9.74 points to 17,310.67, the Plantation Index slipped 24.89 points to 7,396.15 and the Industrial Products and Services Index erased 1.60 points to 154.04.

The Main Market volume narrowed further to 1.18 billion units valued at RM1.73 billion from 1.38 billion units valued at RM2.27 billion on Monday.

Warrant turnover fell to 1.31 billion units worth RM205.15 million from 1.75 billion units worth RM265.26 million previously.

The ACE Market volume dropped to 322.4 million units valued at RM109.22 million from 363 million units from valued at RM147.63 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 176.58 million shares traded on the Main Market; industrial products and services (199.34 million), construction (107.34 million), technology (219.35 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (64.74 million), property (167.49 million), plantation (10.88 million), REITs (22.49 million), closed-end fund (5,000), energy (50.69 million), healthcare (76.35 million), telecommunications and media (39.95 million), transportation and logistics (24.88 million), utilities (22.21 million), and business trusts (308,300).

-- BERNAMA