Bursa Malaysia Closes Lower Amid Continued Profit-taking

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed lower on Wednesday on profit-taking activity, extending its loss for the second straight session.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 6.20 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 1,747.81, compared with Tuesday’s close of 1,754.01.

The benchmark had opened 1.35 points higher at 1,755.36, and moved between 1,744.46 and 1,755.36 throughout the trading session.

The broader market was mixed, with decliners edging past gainers 541 to 539, while 539 counters were unchanged.  A total of 1,150 counters were untraded, and 116 were suspended.

Turnover rose to 2.52 billion units worth RM2.93 billion compared to 2.10 billion units worth RM2.80 billion on Tuesday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI slipped marginally as investors continued to take profit.

“However, the broader trend remains positive, with the formation of ‘higher highs’ and ‘higher lows’ over the past few months reinforcing the ongoing recovery structure. As long as the index stays above the 1,730-1,740 points support zone, the uptrend remains intact, setting the stage for another push towards the 1,770–1,780 range,” he told Bernama.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan agreed that the broader market structure remains constructive, with the FBM KLCI continuing to trade comfortably above its 50-day and 100-day moving averages, thereby preserving the medium-term recovery trend. “Although the momentum has moderated, it remains positive, suggesting range-bound trading rather than a reversal of the prevailing trend,” he added.

Among heavyweight counters, Maybank slipped two sen to RM12.36, Public Bank fell 14 sen to RM4.95, and IHH Healthcare lost eight sen to RM9.00. CIMB Group added three sen to RM8.47, while Tenaga Nasional gained eight sen to RM14.18.

On the most active list, Zetrix AI slid half a sen to 80.5 sen, ACE Market debutant Teamstar slid 2.5 sen to 23.5 sen, and Astro Malaysia edged down 1.5 sen to 7.5 sen. Tanco rose three sen to RM1.53, and Capital A advanced 1.5 sen to 60.5 sen.

Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific, which jumped 78 sen to RM32, while Petronas Dagangan bounced 56 sen to RM21.96, and United Plantations rose 54 sen to RM30.16. Sunway Construction rallied 31 sen to RM6.90, and Hong Leong Financial added 18 sen to RM22.

Nestle led the decliners, dropping 50 sen to RM110.50, while Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 42 sen to RM19.18, and Telekom Malaysia tumbled 39 sen to RM7.75. Allianz Malaysia shed 22 sen to RM22.08, and Globaltec dived 19 sen to 81 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 28.17 points to 12,823.60, the FBMT 100 Index lost 30.73 points to 12,644.17, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 2.13 points to 12,344.77.

The FBM ACE Index dropped 10.18 points to 4,801.95, while the FBM 70 Index rose 20.36 points to 17,769.08.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slipped 83.17 points to 21,631.13, and the Plantation Index dipped 7.38 points to 8,386.69. The Industrial Products and Services Index rose 1.92 points to 174.96, and the Energy Index added 2.79 points to 769.73.

The Main Market volume added to 1.44 billion units worth RM2.67 billion from 1.34 billion units worth RM2.61 billion on Tuesday.

Warrant turnover rose to 628.70 million units worth RM75.10 million from 510.55 million units worth RM63.57 million previously.

The ACE Market volume surged to 446.38 million units valued at RM179.65 million from 257.81 million units valued at RM130.05 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 258.62 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (178.24 million), construction (130.46 million), technology (201.39 million), financial services (103.57 million), property (182.10 million), plantation (21.98 million), real estate investment trusts (15.53 million), closed-end fund (61,000), energy (90.25 million), healthcare (57.59 million), telecommunications and media (132.25 million), transportation and logistics (28.55 million), utilities (46.32 million), and business trusts (13,500).

-- BERNAMA