Bursa Malaysia Ends Lower Mirroring Regional Peers
By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad
KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended lower today tracking the weaker regional market performance.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 11.64 points or 0.75 per cent to 1,547.27 from yesterday’s close of 1,558.91.
The market bellwether opened 3.16 points lower at 1,555.75, and moved between 1,543.21 and 1,556.46 throughout the day.
On the broader market, decliners outpaced advancers 565 to 331, while 488 counters were unchanged, 986 untraded, and 15 suspended.
Turnover narrowed to 2.45 billion units worth RM2.43 billion from 2.98 billion units worth RM2.67 billion yesterday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said regional markets were largely in the red as the United States (US) tariff policies fuelled market uncertainty and dampened economic confidence.
“Meanwhile, Wall Street's strategists are discussing whether a downturn in equities could prompt the US new administration to alter its tariff approach,” he told Bernama.
He said high macroeconomic uncertainty keeps investors wary of the domestic market.
“The initial imposition of tariffs caused global market turbulence, and the subsequent postponement has only heightened volatility, fuelling investor concerns over future trade relations and economic policies,” he added.
Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd's head of investment research, Mohd Sedek Jantan, said the FBM KLCI closed lower today, extending its recent sell-off, with the telecommunications sector leading the decline.
He said the local market remained under pressure due to a lack of fresh domestic catalysts and persistent external headwinds.
“While the US decision to delay tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada initially provided some relief, its move to double the 10 per cent levy on Chinese exports weighed on broader sentiment.
“This led to weaker performance in the majority of Asian markets, including Malaysia, as investors reassessed the impact of escalating trade tensions,” he said.
He said investor caution was further heightened ahead of the US non-farm payroll (NFP) data for February 2025, scheduled for release later today.
“Wednesday’s Automatic Data Processing employment report pointed to slowing job growth, raising concerns that the NFP report could also come in weaker than expected,” he said.
Among heavyweights, Maybank increased eight sen to RM10.64, Public Bank shed four sen to RM4.55, Tenaga Nasional was 12 sen easier at RM13.74, CIMB added 2.0 sen to RM7.52, while IHH Healthcare erased 10 sen to RM7.26.
As for the actives, MyEG Services slipped seven sen to 90 sen, NationGate gave up nine sen to RM1.33, NexG inched up half-a-sen to 27 sen and Oppstar picked up six sen to 53.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index weakened 82.54 points to 11,520.80, the FBMT 100 Index went down 84.75 points to 11,295.55, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 119.98 points to 11,179.95, the FBM ACE Index edged down 9.06 points to 4,587.79, and the FBM 70 Index declined 121.95 points to 16,342.47.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index lost 6.79 points to 19,066.68 and the Industrial Products and Services Index trimmed 1.42 points to 155.23, the Energy Index depreciated 8.56 points to 715.04, and the Plantation Index was 86.78 points lower at 7,480.08.
The Main Market volume declined to 1.37 billion units worth RM2.22 billion from 1.63 billion units worth RM2.44 billion on Thursday.
Warrants turnover slid to 747.40 million units worth RM100.78 million against 1.03 billion units worth RM122.82 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume strengthened to 326.62 million units valued at RM116.21 million versus 313.62 million units valued at RM111.93 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 196.29 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (205.47 million), construction (98.93 million), technology (322.82 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (93.73 million), property (123.37 million), plantation (26.39 million), REITs (15.44 million), closed/fund (22,500), energy (125.93 million), healthcare (67.18 million), telecommunications and media (29.30 million), transportation and logistics (26.41 million), utilities (41.04 million), and business trusts (6,700).
-- BERNAMA