KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia’s key index retreated after four days of gains to close lower today, following profit-taking in selected heavyweight stocks and tracking regional and Wall Street losses.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped 1.1% and 1.9%, respectively, while the Dow dipped just 0.1%.
Regionally, the Hang Seng decreased 1.03% to 24,062.72, while the STI Index fell 0.37% to 5,403.50.
The KOSPI Composite Index slipped 7.57% to 5,554.22, and the Nikkei 225 shed 4.90% to 64,425.95.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Sedek Jantan said the overnight Wall Street sell-off spilt over into Asian markets as investors reassessed the sustainability of artificial intelligence (AI)-related capital expenditure and the earnings outlook for the semiconductor sector.
He said these concerns are weighing on regional risk appetite, with elevated technology valuations increasingly vulnerable to any signs of moderating growth expectations.
“In the near-term, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) is likely to remain sensitive to global equity movements, while the durability of its post-budget recovery will depend on domestic demand, the trajectory of foreign fund flows and a stabilisation in technology-sector sentiment,” he said.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI eased 4.02 points, or 0.24%, to 1,623.70 from yesterday’s close of 1,627.72.
The benchmark index, which opened 2.62 points lower at 1,625.10, moved between 1,617.14 and 1,625.61 throughout the session.
On the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 852 to 294, while 485 counters were unchanged, 1,212 untraded and 9 suspended.
Turnover declined to 3.06 billion units worth RM3.03 billion from 3.25 billion units worth RM3.03 billion yesterday.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 10 sen to RM10.08, while Public Bank went down 1 sen to RM4.74. CIMB lost 2 sen to RM7.48, and Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM12.98. IHH Healthcare fell 3 sen to RM7.98.
In active trade, Zetrix AI gained 1 sen to 6.5 sen, while Top Glove and VS Industry each lost 1 sen to 90 sen and 33 sen, respectively. Dagang Nexchange slipped 2.5 sen to 44.5 sen and Nationgate Holdings fell 7 sen to RM2.
Among the top gainers, Nestle rose by 38 sen to RM90.50, while Petronas Gas increased 32 sen to RM17.60. Batu Kawan Bhd added 20 sen to RM19.40, and Fraser & Neave gained 16 sen to RM20.10. Itmax System was up 12 sen to RM4.75.
The top losers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which trimmed RM1.60 to RM40.40, while UMS Integration lost 66 sen to RM7.67 and UWC Bhd tumbled 55 sen to RM7.18. Vitrox Corporation and MI Technovation each gave up 32 sen to RM10.32 and RM6.38, respectively
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index decreased 205.15 points to 17,239.73, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 102.81 points to 12,002.54, the FBM Emas Index gave up 69.08 points to 12,073.52, while the FBM Top 100 Index lost 58.17 points to 11,875.86. The FBM ACE Index slipped 144.35 points to 5,310.90.
Sector-wise, the industrial products and services index fell 3.69 points to 176.92, the energy index eased 5.18 points to 822.87, and the plantation index lost 53.10 points to 8,843.87.
The energy index was 5.18 points lower at 822.87. However, the financial services index increased 2.21 points to 18,826.64.
Main Market volume fell to 1.75 billion units worth RM2.70 billion from 1.81 billion units worth RM2.60 billion yesterday.
Warrant turnover increased to 846.48 million units worth RM117.72 million from 808.38 million units worth RM105.78 million.
ACE Market volume fell to 454.44 million units, valued at RM206.24 million, from 628.65 million units, valued at RM325.60 million.
Meanwhile, consumer products and services counters accounted for 245.63 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (368.05 million), construction (125.08 million), technology (401.82 million), financial services (86 million), property (132.64 million), plantation (31.41 million), real estate investment trusts (113.66 million), closed-end funds (121,700), energy (86.40 million), healthcare (141.33 million), telecommunications and media (28.30 million), transportation and logistics (46.16 million), utilities (54.15 million), and business trusts (57,600).
Bursa Malaysia Bhd announced a name change from Omesti Bhd to Tegra Bhd, and Omesti Berhad - Warrants D 2025/2030 to Tegra Berhad - Warrants D 2025/2030, effective from 9am on Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026.
The company’s stock codes remain unchanged.
At the same time, Bursa Malaysia announced the transfer of SMRT Holdings Bhd’s shares from the ACE Market to the Main Market under the Technology sector on Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026, at 9am.
The stock short name and stock number remain unchanged: SMRT and 0117, respectively, following the transfer.