Bursa Malaysia Closes Below Key 1,600 Threshold As Foreign Selling Hits Banks

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 – Bursa Malaysia’s key index extended its losses on Monday, October 19, 2026, closing below the critical 1,600-point psychological support level as sustained foreign selling continued to drag down major banking stocks.

At the 5 PM market close, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shed 12.01 points, or 0.74 per cent, to end at 1,595.75, compared to Friday’s closing level of 1,607.76.

The benchmark index, which opened 3.58 points lower at 1,604.18, fluctuated between an intraday low of 1,593.37 and a high of 1,604.65 throughout the day’s session.

Market breadth remained negative, with decliners outnumbering gainers 741 to 322, while 482 counters traded unchanged, 1,299 remained untraded, and 35 were suspended. Total market turnover shrank to 2.49 billion units valued at RM2.38 billion, down from 3.13 billion units worth RM3.27 billion recorded on Friday.

Summary of Heavyweight Performance and Sector Indices

Heavy selling pressure hit financial stocks, though gains in consumer, plantation, and energy counters helped cushion the broader market’s decline:

• Banking & Financial Heavyweights: Public Bank dropped 12 sen to RM4.71, Maybank fell nine sen to RM9.90, CIMB declined five sen to RM7.15, AMMB Holdings slid 16 sen to RM6.19, and RHB Bank eased 12 sen to RM7.20. Hong Leong Financial Group dropped 28 sen to RM17.56, while Hong Leong Bank shed 20 sen to RM21.10.
• Key Heavyweight Gainers: Press Metal jumped 18 sen to RM6.68, YTL Power climbed 11 sen to RM5.26, and SD Guthrie improved three sen to RM5.72. Nestle topped the gainers’ list after surging 58 sen to RM89.90, while Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 16 sen to RM20.16 and Petronas Dagangan advanced 14 sen to RM19.78.
• Top Market Decliners: United Plantations dropped 36 sen to RM30.24, Allianz Malaysia sank 34 sen to RM19.46, Tenaga Nasional lost two sen to RM12.98, and IHH Healthcare declined 10 sen to RM7.90.
• Broad Market Indices: The FBM Emas Index decreased 82.57 points to 11,909.69, the FBM Mid 70 Index fell 92.19 points to 17,133.74, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dipped 45.68 points to 11,874.19, and the FBM ACE Index slipped 37.76 points to 5,393.29.
• Sectoral Indices: The Financial Services Index plummeted 260.85 points to 18,490.97. In contrast, the Plantation Index added 20.49 points to 8,653.37, the Energy Index gained 2.56 points to 823.56, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.31 points to 174.10.

Total Main Market volume narrowed to 1.54 billion units valued at RM2.15 billion, with technology (296.69 million shares) and industrial products and services (328.95 million shares) leading trading activity.

–NMT