Bursa Malaysia Down 1.19 Pct At Midday Amid Selling Pressure, High Oil Prices

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 – Bursa Malaysia continued its downward trajectory at midday on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, falling in line with regional markets due to persistent selling pressure and elevated global crude oil prices.

At 12:30 PM, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 19.39 points, or 1.19 per cent, to close the morning session at 1,613.96 compared to Tuesday’s close of 1,633.35.

After opening 0.19 of a point higher at 1,633.54—its intraday high—the composite index fell as low as 1,612.42.

Global Oil Pressures and Macroeconomic Headwinds

Market sentiment was weighed down by geopolitical friction and macroeconomic uncertainty. Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) noted that Brent crude oil advanced amid Houthi missile strikes and Iranian tanker attacks, which overshadowed supply releases from Saudi Arabia and G7 emergency reserves.

At midday, Brent crude traded up 1.02 per cent at US$101.60 per barrel.

Key market factors highlighted by HLIB include:

• Budget 2027 & Geopolitics: Ahead of Malaysia’s Budget 2027 presentation on October 9, escalating US-Iran tensions and a hawkish Federal Reserve stance are expected to keep the FBM KLCI in risk-off consolidation.
• Domestic Politics: The announcement of the Melaka state election—with nominations set for October 31 and polling on November 14—adds a layer of political observation regarding coalition dynamics and voter sentiment.
• Market Breadth: Decliners outpaced gainers 580 to 401, with 512 counters unchanged, 1,297 untraded, and 13 suspended.
• Trading Volume: Total turnover reached 2.37 billion units valued at RM1.7 billion.

Heavyweight Movements and Sectoral Indexes

Heavyweight banking counters bore the brunt of midday losses, dragging down the main index:

• Heavyweight Stocks: CIMB dropped 38 sen to RM7.32, while Maybank and Public Bank decreased two sen each to RM9.89 and RM4.59, respectively. Tenaga Nasional gained six sen to RM12.96, while IHH Healthcare traded flat at RM7.91.
• Active Counters: Top Glove slipped two sen to 85.5 sen, Zetrix AI edged down one sen to eight sen, and VS Industry eased half a sen to 32.5 sen. Metronic Global and Supermax were flat at half a sen and 46 sen, respectively.
• Top Gainers: Mi Technovation led gainers, surging 36 sen to RM6.36, followed by Batu Kawan (up 32 sen to RM19.60), Malaysian Pacific Industries (up 26 sen to RM45.22), Petronas Dagangan (up 22 sen to RM19.34), and Critical Holdings (up 20 sen to RM2.89).
• Top Decliners: Nestle led the decliners, falling RM1.56 to RM89.70. Financial institutions also saw sharp dips, including Hong Leong Bank (down 62 sen to RM21.46), Fraser & Neave (down 58 sen to RM21.14), and Hong Leong Financial Group (down 36 sen to RM17.98).

On the sectoral front, the Financial Services Index dropped sharply by 477.86 points to 18,590.14, and the Plantation Index shrank 57.92 points to 8,984.25. Conversely, the Energy Index gained 3.50 points to 844.22, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.19 of a point to 180.60.

–NMT