Bursa Malaysia Ends Lower as It Tracks Cautious Wall Street Performance

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 – Bursa Malaysia closed lower on Thursday, October 1, 2026, under persistent selling pressure across major blue-chip counters, tracking a mixed and cautious overnight performance on Wall Street.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 20.81 points, or 1.26 per cent, to finish at 1,630.36, down from Wednesday’s close of 1,651.17.

After opening 1.30 points weaker at 1,649.87, the key index fluctuated between an intraday low of 1,630.10 and a high of 1,649.87 throughout the trading session.

Market breadth was negative as decliners outpaced gainers 750 to 342, with 495 counters trading unchanged, 1,186 untraded, and 12 suspended. Total market turnover dropped to 3.1 billion units valued at RM2.7 billion, compared to 3.63 billion units worth RM3.62 billion recorded on Wednesday.

Economic data released earlier in the day showed that the S&P Global Malaysia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slipped into contraction territory, falling to 49.9 in September from 50.2 in August—marking the first downturn in operating conditions in four months. Regionally, the S&P Global ASEAN Manufacturing PMI also eased to 52.1 in September from 52.3 in August.

Blue-Chip Heavyweights and Active Counters

Financial, utility, and healthcare heavyweights experienced notable selling pressure:

• CIMB dropped 10 sen to RM7.69.
• IHH Healthcare erased 13 sen to RM7.70.
• Tenaga Nasional lost 6 sen to RM12.90.
• Maybank slipped 4 sen to RM9.95.
• Public Bank fell 3 sen to RM4.67.

In active trading, ACE Market debutant GB Bond slumped 4.5 sen to close at 20.5 sen. Jaks Resources dropped 2.5 sen to 18 sen, and VS Industry dipped 1 sen to 27 sen. Meanwhile, Zetrix AI and HHRG each added half a sen to close at 16.5 sen.

Top gainers for the session were led by technology and consumer stocks:

• Malaysian Pacific Industries: Surged 72 sen to RM41.12.
• Ayer Holdings: Advanced 20 sen to RM7.70.
• Riverview Rubber Estates: Rose 12 sen to RM3.02.
• Dutch Lady Malaysia Industries: Added 10 sen to RM30.00.
• Vitrox: Gained 9 sen to RM10.00.

Plantation and consumer-linked counters featured among the session’s major losers:

• Kuala Lumpur Kepong: Led losses, dropping 78 sen to RM21.42.
• Allianz Malaysia: Declined 62 sen to RM21.00.
• United Plantations: Shed 60 sen to RM30.96.
• Fraser & Neave & Hong Leong Industries: Each fell 32 sen to RM21.42 and RM16.14, respectively.

–NMT