Bursa Malaysia Closes Lower Amid Heightened Risk Aversion
By Harizah Hanim Mohamed
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia finished easier on the first trading day of February as heightened risk aversion gripped the market following the United States (US) President Donald Trump’s administration's announcement of new tariffs.
At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shed 3.29 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 1,553.63, compared to last Friday’s close of 1,556.92.
The benchmark index opened 9.36 points lower at 1,547.56 this morning and moved to a low of 1,546.68 during the morning session before hitting a high of 1,556.74 in the afternoon session.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 589 to 385, while 429 counters were unchanged, 2,294 untraded, and 15 suspended.
UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research, Mohd Sedek Jantan said the White House has yet to release full details of the tariff plan, resulting in uncertainties regarding its scope and duration.
“This lack of clarity has increased investors’ concern over how and for how long these tariffs will be enforced. Markets dislike surprises, and such policy uncertainties weigh not only on US equities but also on global capital markets by exacerbating negative sentiments,” he said.
He further added that the immediate market reaction has been driven by heightened risk aversion.
“However, we maintain the view that the US will continue to rely on Asia to market its products,” he said.
Mohd Sedek pointed out that the impact of tariffs on Chinese goods may be limited for Malaysia if they primarily target trade loopholes exploited by Chinese online retailers such as Temu and Shein, rather than disrupting broader supply chains.
“In the near term, we expect that any positive developments in the market will be overshadowed by the prevailing negative sentiment stemming from this tariff announcement. Uncertainty remains the dominant force and risk appetite is likely to stay subdued until greater clarity emerges,” he said.
Among the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals lost 24 sen to RM4.41, YTL Power International reduced eight sen to RM3.05, Maybank was four sen lower at RM10.30, Sime Darby was seven sen lower at RM2.18, and PPB Group gave up 24 sen to RM11.72.
Compugates led the list of the most active counters, adding half-a-sen to 1.5 sen, followed by Supermax which added 15 sen to RM1.22.
Top Glove rose five sen to RM1.25, MAG improved by half-a-sen to 20.5 sen and Oriental Kopi bagged two sen to 85.5 sen.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index slid 17.65 points to 11,866.06, the FBMT 100 Index trimmed 17.29 points to 11,558.61, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 15.31 points to 11,721.82.
The FBM ACE Index inched down 5.90 points to 5,189.17, while the FBM 70 Index edged up 0.60 points to 17,587.62.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index narrowed 14.53 points to 18,839.82, the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 1.64 points to 163.73, and the Energy Index slipped 7.20 points to 816.12, while the Plantation Index rose 0.24 of-a-point to 7,345.84.
The Main Market volume improved to 1.10 billion units worth RM1.56 billion from 926.01 million units worth RM1.79 billion last Friday.
Warrants turnover rose to 609.71 million units valued at RM57.19 million against 273.90 million units valued at RM19.19 million previously.
The ACE Market volume increased to 364.65 million units worth RM136.73 million versus 270.62 million units worth RM112.24 last Friday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 142.08 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (246.55 million), construction (74.99 million), technology (145.63 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (51.77 million), property (124.48 million), plantation (16.91 million), REITs (6.70 million), closed/fund (22,500), energy (99.99 million), healthcare (101.25 million), telecommunications and media (16.1 million), transportation and logistics (21.10 million), utilities (57.73 million), and business trusts (57,700).
-- BERNAMA
