KUALA LUMPUR — Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index opened lower on Friday, 27 February 2026, as caution gripped investor sentiment following mixed performance on Wall Street and renewed pressure on technology-linked stocks.
At 9.10 am MYT, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 8.40 points to 1,732.54 from the previous day’s close of 1,740.94, after initially opening 3.88 points lower at 1,737.06.
Market Sentiment and Breadth
Early trading on Bursa Malaysia reflected a negative market breadth, with 297 losers outnumbering 142 gainers, while 274 counters remained unchanged. A large portion of the market saw limited activity, with 1,977 counters untraded and 76 suspended. Turnover was recorded at 214.54 million shares worth RM152.35 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd’s vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng noted that investor caution was partly driven by mixed overnight cues from the U.S. market, particularly a sell-off in artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks despite some positive earnings reports.
“Wall Street closed mixed as AI-related stocks came under pressure, with declines in major names like Nvidia and Salesforce despite better-than-expected results,” Thong told Bernama, referring to the uneven performance across the technology sector. He also pointed out that the US 10-year Treasury yield fell to about 4.01 per cent, adding to mixed market dynamics.
Sector and Counter Movements
Among heavyweight blue-chips, notable movements included:
- Maybank dipping six sen to RM11.94
- Public Bank shedding five sen to RM4.95
- CIMB Group easing 12 sen to RM8.34
Conversely, Tenaga Nasional rose 16 sen to RM14.34, while IHH Healthcare edged down seven sen to RM8.95 in early trades.
Active Counters and Movers
On the most actively traded list:
- MBSB declined 4.5 sen to 71.5 sen
- Velesto Energy slid half a sen to 30 sen
- Bintai Kinden gained one sen to 10.5 sen
- Zetrix AI rose two sen to 82 sen
- Ambest eased 1.5 sen to 29.5 sen
Gainers and Losers
Top gainers included:
- Greatech up 23 sen to RM2.20
- MHC Plantations rising 13 sen to RM1.76
- Kelington climbing 13 sen to RM5.34
- Vitrox up 11 sen to RM4.63
- Time dotCom rising 11 sen to RM6.27
Top losers included:
- Ayer Holdings down 37 sen to RM7.01
- Batu Kawan falling 32 sen to RM19.38
- United Plantations retreating 24 sen to RM29.76
- Ajinomoto down 20 sen to RM13.60
- Dufu Technology sliding 18 sen to RM1.58
Index Performance Across the Board
The broader indices were weaker across sectors:
- FBMT 100 Index fell 74.60 points to 12,519.71
- FBM Emas Index lost 72.18 points to 12,696.42
- FBM 70 Index eased 34.77 points to 17,663.47
- FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 46.95 points to 12,264.76
- FBM ACE Index slipped 20.83 points to 4,743.72
Sector performance also reflected broad caution:
- Financial Services Index slid 156.40 points to 21,309.94
- Industrial Products and Services Index edged down slightly to 174.08
- Energy Index dipped to 754.56
- Plantation Index declined to 8,293.71
Market Outlook
Analysts said that while the weak opening may reflect short-term nervousness, there remain opportunities for bargain hunting, particularly if the FBM KLCI approaches technical support levels around 1,730. Thong suggested that the index could trade within a range of about 1,735–1,745 if sentiment stabilises.
The cautious mood also mirrors broader trends across Asian markets, where ongoing volatility in global technology stocks and mixed macroeconomic signals continue to influence investor behaviour.
