Bursa Malaysia Closes Lower as Rising Oil Prices and Elevated Bond Yields Weight on Market Sentiment

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 – Bursa Malaysia finished in negative territory on Thursday as moderate selling pressure, fueled by rising crude oil prices and elevated global bond yields, sapped investor risk appetite across local equities.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 4.12 points, or 0.24 percent, to settle at 1,672.31 compared to Wednesday’s close of 1,676.43.

Opening 1.98 points lower at 1,674.45, the benchmark index fluctuated within an intraday range of 1,671.48 to 1,679.47.

Market breadth reflected cautious market sentiment, with losers outpacing gainers 677 to 436, while 542 counters traded flat, 1,246 remained untraded, and 27 were suspended.

Total trading volume expanded to 3.32 billion units valued at RM2.74 billion, compared to 3.20 billion units worth RM2.99 billion recorded on Wednesday.

Global energy benchmark Brent crude oil surged 2.45 percent to trade at US$105.54 per barrel during market hours, keeping cost pressures at the forefront of investor concerns.

Major banking and utility heavyweights largely drifted lower, as Maybank eased two sen to RM10.12, Public Bank slipped one sen to RM4.82, and Tenaga Nasional dropped eight sen to RM13.06. Conversely, CIMB gained three sen to RM7.96 and IHH Healthcare added six sen to RM8.06.

Among the session’s most actively traded stocks, Zetrix AI edged up half a sen to 19 sen, while NexG jumped 5.5 sen to 32 sen. Aimax finished flat at one sen, whereas V.S Industry dropped 1.5 sen to 23.5 sen and Sunway Healthcare shed six sen to RM2.07.

Nestle topped the gainers’ chart, climbing RM1.96 to RM91.46. Other significant gainers included Ajinomoto, which added 38 sen to RM19.64, Pekat, up 24 sen to RM2.64, Northern Solar, which gained 16 sen to RM1.18, and MISC, advancing 15 sen to RM7.92.

On the losing end, technology and plantation counters took a hit. Malaysian Pacific Industries led the decliners, shedding RM1.08 to RM43.50, followed by Batu Kawan, down 54 sen to RM20. MI Technovation slid 32 sen to RM5.81, Unisem dropped 24 sen to RM4.50, and Pentamaster fell 23 sen to RM5.18.

Across the key index boards, the FBM Mid 70 Index declined 78.99 points to 17,754.81, the FBM Emas Index lost 36.08 points to 12,441.27, the FBM Top 100 Index shed 36.35 points to 12,231.25, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 28.50 points to 12,291.72. The FBM ACE Index bucked the trend, gaining 9.92 points to 5,437.33.

Sectoral performance was predominantly red, with the Industrial Products and Services Index losing 0.61 of a point to 184.34, the Plantation Index slipping 18.52 points to 9,391.28, and the Financial Services Index declining 22.91 points to 19,554.87. Driven by higher global oil prices, the Energy Index gained 9.98 points to 860.43.

Main Market trading volume expanded to 2.09 billion units worth RM2.42 billion, compared with 1.95 billion units valued at RM2.67 billion on Wednesday.

Warrant turnover contracted to 764.97 million units worth RM115.91 million against 788.71 million units valued at RM114.81 million previously.

The ACE Market saw its volume rise to 463.98 million units valued at RM210.23 million, up from 461.73 million units worth RM199.84 million recorded in the previous session.

In terms of Main Market sectoral breakdown, technology counters dominated trading activity with 851.51 million shares traded, followed by industrial products and services (330.10 million), consumer products and services (187.27 million), healthcare (140.78 million), property (116.08 million), construction (111.78 million), energy (103.59 million), plantation (64.81 million), financial services (59.18 million), utilities (45.95 million), transportation and logistics (38.79 million), real estate investment trusts (22.76 million), telecommunications and media (22.30 million), business trusts (39,000), and closed-end funds (5,100).

–NMT