KUALA LUMPUR, — Bursa Malaysia gave up its early gains to close slightly lower on Wednesday, as profit-taking activities emerged in selected heavyweight stocks, particularly in the financial services and utilities sectors.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 4.70 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 1,683.42 compared to Tuesday’s closing of 1,688.12.
The benchmark index opened 3.30 points higher at 1,691.42 and traded within a range of 1,680.46 to 1,695.68 during the session.
In the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 615 to 455, with 566 counters unchanged, 1,057 untraded and 13 suspended.
Trading volume rose to 3.33 billion units valued at RM3.02 billion, up from Tuesday’s 2.85 billion units worth RM2.67 billion.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd investment strategy director and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI started the day on a firmer note and briefly tested the 1,695 level in early trade, but momentum weakened as the session progressed.
He noted that weakness was mainly seen in energy and utility-related stocks, influenced by softer crude oil prices and short-term profit-taking after recent gains in yield-oriented shares.
“The easing conflict in West Asia, together with Brent crude oil price stabilising below US$100 per barrel, has created a more supportive global environment,” he said.
Mohd Sedek added that the divergence between the headline index and broader market breadth indicates portfolio rebalancing rather than a decline in risk appetite, with investor participation becoming more widespread beyond major index heavyweights.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank gained two sen to RM11.06, Public Bank slipped four sen to RM4.60, CIMB and IHH Healthcare each fell five sen to RM7.50 and RM8.70 respectively, while Tenaga Nasional dropped 18 sen to RM14.14.
On the most active list, 5E Resources and V.S. Industry both rose one sen to 27 sen and 19.5 sen, Zetrix AI climbed two sen to 79 sen, and Velesto Energy edged up half-a-sen to 33 sen.
Top gainers were led by Malaysian Pacific Industries, which jumped RM2.36 to RM33.00, Malayan Cement rose 31 sen to RM6.91, and Hong Leong Industries and Fraser & Neave each gained 30 sen.
Top losers included Petronas Gas, which fell 36 sen to RM17.90, Petronas Chemicals slipped 27 sen to RM5.63, and MISC declined 18 sen to RM8.18.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 rose 127.01 points to 17,503.27, the FBM ACE Index gained 42.28 points to 4,509.99, while the FBM Top 100 Index eased 3.55 points to 12,248.34.
By sector, the Financial Services Index fell 24.48 points to 19,648.39, the Plantation Index declined 38.15 points to 8,902.63, while the Energy Index edged slightly higher.
Main Market volume increased to 1.68 billion units valued at RM2.70 billion.
