KUALA LUMPUR, March 2, 2026 — Bursa Malaysia traded lower by mid-day on Monday as investors adopted a cautious stance in light of ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which have dampened risk appetite across global markets.
At 12:30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 17.59 points or 1.02 per cent to 1,699.02, compared with a closing level of 1,716.61 on Friday. The benchmark opened lower at 1,688.64 and fluctuated between 1,684.28 and 1,703.90 throughout the morning session.
Market breadth showed a dominance of losers over gainers with 984 stocks declining, 245 rising, 368 unchanged, and 1,028 not traded. There were also 23 counters suspended. Total trading volume amounted to 2.27 billion shares with a value of RM1.99 billion.
Regional equities also retreated, with the Straits Times Index sliding 1.77 per cent to 4,906.84, Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 1.42 per cent to 58,012.46, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong dropping 1.58 per cent to 26,209.91.
Analysts at Hong Leong Investment Bank noted that Bursa Malaysia began the month of March on a challenging footing amid heavy selling in Wall Street on Friday, driven by rising conflict in the Middle East which heightened geopolitical and regional risk perceptions. Investors were also factoring in corporate results for February and uncertainties surrounding tariffs following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Technical support levels were identified around 1,663–1,680–1,700, while key resistance was seen at 1,730–1,754.
Among the heavyweights, Press Metal gained nine sen to RM7.22, and Hong Leong Bank rose 20 sen to RM23.48. Conversely, Maybank edged down 18 sen to RM11.78, while Public Bank and CIMB lost nine sen each to RM4.84 and RM7.95 respectively.
Active counters included Hibiscus Petroleum, which rose 23 sen to RM1.83, and Velesto, up half a sen to 31 sen. On the downside, Pharmaniaga declined one sen to 28.5 sen, while Zetrix AI and Capital A eased 3.5 sen to 78.5 sen and 53.5 sen respectively.
Among the biggest gainers were Petronas Chemicals, up 24 sen to RM3.24, and Petronas Dagangan, which rose 22 sen to RM22.20. IGB and Vstecs each increased 16 sen to RM3.96 and RM4.64 respectively. On the losing side, Nestle slid RM2.60 to RM107.30, Fraser & Neave dropped 96 sen to RM33.98, Malaysian Pacific Industries fell 66 sen to RM31.30, and Hong Leong Industries decreased 48 sen to RM18.24.
On the broader market indices, the FBMT100 retreated 133.66 points to 12,300.16, the FBM Emas down 136.60 to 12,474.83, and the FBM70 dropped 216.68 points to 17,325.79. The FBM Emas Shariah index slid 113.81 to 12,103.75, while the FBM ACE eased 122.99 points to 4,597.26.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined 225.62 points to 20,856.18, and the Plantation Index fell 75.07 points to 8,194.50. In contrast, the Industrial Products & Services Index gained 0.23 points to 171.06, and the Energy Index rose 5.49 points to 759.23
