Bursa Malaysia remained lower at midday as selling pressure on several heavyweights—particularly in the banking sector—weighed on market performance, mirroring the weaker showing on Wall Street.
At 12:30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 13.67 points to 1,656.35, down from Monday's close of 1,670.02.
The benchmark index opened 5.91 points lower at 1,664.11 and traded within a range of 1,653.63 to 1,665.32 throughout the morning session.
Banking Stocks Under Pressure
Among the banking stocks facing pressure, CIMB fell 18 sen to RM7.81, while Maybank dropped 8 sen to RM10.08.
Public Bank declined 4 sen to RM4.75, RHB Bank fell 16 sen to RM7.68, and AMMB dropped 5 sen to RM6.55.
Market sentiment remained negative, with 646 counters declining against 312 gainers. A total of 459 counters remained unchanged, while 1,474 were untraded and 143 were suspended.
Trading volume reached 1.83 billion shares valued at RM1.18 billion.
FBM KLCI Tests 1,660 Support Level
From a technical perspective, Apex Securities noted that the key index remains within a narrow range above the 1,660 support level. Early signs of stability are emerging as the FBM KLCI approaches the lower boundary of the downtrend channel, around the 1,640 mark. According to the firm, sustained movement beyond the 1,680–1,685 range could signal an early indication of rising short-term momentum, with the next resistance levels at 1,700–1,705.
Conversely, a failure to hold above 1,660 could pave the way for the index to test the lower boundary of the downtrend channel.
Tenaga and IHH Hold Firm
Among other heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare rose 4 sen each to RM12.94 and RM7.99, respectively.
As for active counters, Zetrix AI fell 2.5 sen to 16.5 sen, while Jaks Resources gained half a sen to 19 sen.
Ni Hsin declined half a sen to 38.5 sen, while MAG remained unchanged at 15.5 sen. JCY International rose 2.5 sen to 58 sen.
Solarvest Among Top Gainers
Among the top gainers, Solarvest rose 28 sen to RM4.40, Ranhill Utilities climbed 15 sen to RM3.34, and Southern Cable surged 14 sen to RM2.90.
KLCC Property REITs gained 13 sen to RM8.48, while Petronas Dagangan rose 12 sen to RM19.44.
On the other hand, Malaysian Pacific Industries was the top loser, dropping RM1.50 to RM40.70.
Fraser & Neave fell 74 sen to RM21.48, United Plantations declined 28 sen to RM31.32, Allianz Malaysia dropped 18 sen to RM20.92, and Unisem fell 16 sen to RM4.33. Most Indices in the Red
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 fell 72.29 points to 17,615.47, while the FBM Emas declined 84.42 points to 12,330.37.
The FBM Top 100 dropped 87.14 points to 5,499.13, while the FBM Emas Shariah shed 55.22 points to 12,187.10.
In contrast, the FBM ACE rose 8.52 points to 5,499.13.
By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index fell 0.79 points to 182.01, while the Energy Index rose 3.86 points to 865.68.
The Financial Services Index dropped 203.82 points to 19,394.56, while the Plantation Index rose 29.22 points to 9,247.71.
