Bursa Malaysia Ends Lower On Regional & Wall Street Weakness

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s key index closed lower, weighed down by regional weakness, tracking the negative cue from Wall Street overnight amid tariff worries and renewed fears over US banks.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 5.11 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 1,607.18 from Thursday’s close of 1,612.29.

The benchmark index opened 1.40 points firmer at 1,613.69 and fluctuated between 1,604.72 and 1,616.36 throughout the trading session.

The broader market was negative with 985 decliners trouncing 292 gainers, while 430 counters were unchanged, 975 untraded, and 18 suspended.

Turnover improved to 3.81 billion units worth RM3.03 billion compared with 3.49 billion units valued at RM2.85 billion on Thursday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said regional markets closed mostly in the red, with selling pressure concentrated in technology counters following a weak lead from Wall Street overnight.

“Renewed concerns over US regional banks rattled investor confidence after reports of deteriorating loan quality at two lenders triggered a broad sell-off on Wall Street, offsetting earlier gains in the technology and artificial intelligence sectors,” he told Bernama.

He noted that China and Hong Kong declined sharply as trade tensions between Beijing and Washington remained elevated. Key economic data to watch for next week include China's third-quarter gross domestic product figures, US Consumer Price Index for September, and Eurozone's October purchasing managers’ index.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.48 per cent to 25,247.10, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slipped 1.44 per cent to 47,582.15, Indonesia’s IDX Composite Index dropped 2.57 per cent to 7,915.66, China’s SSE Composite Index fell 1.95 per cent to 3,839.76, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 0.63 per cent to 4,328.93.

“As for the local bourse, investors should stay cautious amid increasing market volatility. We expect the benchmark index to remain in consolidation mode in the short term, although bargain hunting activities may emerge,” said Thong.

Among heavyweights, Maybank fell three sen to RM9.89, Public Bank eased two sen to RM4.20, and Tenaga Nasional slipped eight sen to RM13.10. Meanwhile IHH Healthcare rose 26 sen to RM8.30, and CIMB Group was unchanged at RM7.34.

On the most active list, Aizo and Pharmaniaga perked up half-a-sen to eight sen and 27 sen, respectively, and Genting Malaysia rose one sen to RM2.34. Zetrix AI declined two sen to 83.5 sen and Tanco Holdings shed two sen to 86 sen.

Top gainers included Nestle which rose 30 sen to RM105.00, Hong Leong Bank advanced 18 sen to RM20.96, Seremban Engineering gained 8.5 sen to 65 sen, Hong Leong Financial Group increased eight sen to RM17.08, and Westports Holdings added seven sen to RM5.34.

Among the top decliners, Malaysian Pacific Industries slipped 68 sen to RM28.92, Ajinomoto and Petronas Gas fell 30 sen each to RM13.50 and RM18.70, respectively, while Kelington declined 28 sen to RM5.52, and Pentamaster Corp dipped 27 sen to RM3.91.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index tumbled 77.14 points to 12,004.91, the FBMT 100 Index fell 61.81 points to 11,742.02, the FBM Emas Shariah Index sank 104.53 points to 12,057.27, the FBM 70 Index slipped 195.61 points to 17,007.94, and the FBM ACE Index dipped 96.87 points to 5,278.89.

By sector, the Financial Services Index shrank 29.97 points to 18,192.44, the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 2.58 points to 171.05, the Energy Index gave up 6.63 points to 788.93, and the Plantation Index eased 0.37 of-a-point to 7,860.86.

The Main Market volume climbed to 2.24 billion units valued at RM2.69 billion from 2.01  billion units worth RM2.55 billion yesterday.

Warrants turnover expanded to 1.07 billion units worth RM116.62 million compared with 997.49 million units valued at RM117.36 million on Thursday.

The ACE Market volume increased to 497.93 million units valued at RM216.54 million from 479.68 million units worth RM179.84 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 497.58 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (475.20 million), construction (134.11 million), technology (373.32 million), financial services (60.94 million), property (184.36 million), plantation (25.03 million), real estate investment trusts (23.16 million), closed-end fund (83,800), energy (146.91 million), healthcare (157.12 million), telecommunications and media (72.52 million), transportation and logistics (35.21 million), utilities (55.94 million), and business trusts (125,000).

Bursa Malaysia Bhd and its subsidiaries will be closed on Monday, Oct 20, 2025 in conjunction with the Deepavali public holiday.

-- BERNAMA