Bursa ends lower as conflicting signals from West Asia cloud sentiment

2026-03-26 - 10:21

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia reversed yesterday’s gains to close at an intraday low, with the benchmark index easing 0.34% as investors tracked developments in West Asia while remaining cautious amid increasingly conflicting signals from both the US and Iran over potential peace negotiations. At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 5.79 points to 1,710.89 from yesterday’s close of 1,716.68. The market bellwether opened 2.78 points higher at 1,719.46, and reached its highest level of 1,719.89 in early trade. Market breadth was negative, with losers beating gainers 568 to 482. A total of 569 counters were unchanged, 1,140 untraded and 77 suspended. Turnover improved to 3.0 billion units worth RM3.14 billion from yesterday’s 2.90 billion units worth RM3.26 billion. IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Sedek Jantan said oil price dynamics remained the key anchor for market direction. He noted that Brent crude fell to around US$98 per barrel during the US trading session on expectations of possible de-escalation before rebounding sharply, reversing to about US$105 today as geopolitical risks resurfaced. “Despite the softer close, the downside in the FBM KLCI remains contained and lacks broad-based selling pressure. “The modest pullback should be interpreted as a consolidation phase following the previous session’s rebound, rather than a decisive shift towards risk-off positioning. Investors remain cautious but not defensive, with positioning still fluid and highly responsive to geopolitical developments,” he said. Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the benchmark index is well supported around the 1,710 level and is expected to remain range-bound in the near term as investors adopt a cautious stance amid escalating geopolitical tensions and weaker regional cues. While news of a potential ceasefire proposal provides some hope, he said uncertainty remains elevated, keeping risk appetite subdued. “As a result, the index is likely to trade within a tight range, with downside risks emerging if external sentiment deteriorates further. As such, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,710-1,730 range towards the weekend,” he added. Among heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM11.44, Public Bank lost 11 sen to RM4.82, CIMB fell eight sen to RM7.81, Tenaga Nasional was down four sen to RM14.38, while IHH Healthcare rose three sen to RM9.02. On the most active list, Sunway Healthcare jumped 17 sen to RM2.29, Zetrix AI shed one sen to 74 sen, Dialog surged 23 sen to RM2.32, AirAsia X fell eight sen to RM1.16, and Bumi Armada up 0.5 sen to 32.5 sen. Top gainers included Kuala Lumpur Kepong, which climbed 54 sen to RM20.14, Petronas Chemicals garnered 34 sen to RM5.80, Petronas Dagangan gained 32 sen to RM21.92, Batu Kawan put on 28 sen to RM19.88, and Gas Malaysia soared 23 sen to RM5.67. As for top losers, BLD Plantation slid 20 sen to RM15.0, Gamuda and Petronas Gas fell 18 sen to RM3.98 and RM17.62, respectively, and Hong Leong Financial slipped 16 sen to RM19.40. On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index decreased 13.71 points to 12,322.22, the FBM Emas Index declined 16.39 points to 12,458.44, the FBM 70 Index increased 102.70 points to 17,066.46, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 35.04 points to 12,229.53, and the FBM ACE Index sank 15.54 points to 4,354.76. By sector, the Financial Services Index shrank 139.48 points to 20,430.13, the Industrial Products and Services Index perked up 2.60 points to 182.72, the Energy Index firmed 20.90 points to 806.26, and the Plantation Index surged 77.50 points to 8,656.95. The Main Market volume expanded to 1.83 billion units valued at RM2.90 billion from 1.69 billion units valued at RM3.02 billion on Wednesday. Warrants turnover slipped to 893.33 million units worth RM126.61 million from 964.64 million units worth RM139.07 million previously. The ACE Market volume increased to 277.72 million units valued at RM113.46 million from 249.04 million units valued at RM91.93 million yesterday. Consumer products and services counters accounted for 196.98 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (239.74 million), construction (174.54 million), technology (249.36 million), financial services (55.26 million), property (143.44 million), plantation (57.44 million), real estate investment trusts (40.26 million), closed-end fund (84,600), energy (297.20 million), healthcare (256.47 million), telecommunications and media (44.47 million), transportation and logistics (36.20 million), utilities (42.06 million), and business trusts (1.18 million).