KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — Bursa Malaysia closed lower on Wednesday as investors continued to take profit following the recent rally, while elevated crude oil prices and lingering geopolitical tensions in West Asia kept market sentiment cautious, said an analyst.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell nine points, or 0.52 per cent, to 1,711.37 from Tuesday’s close of 1,720.37.
The index opened 0.53 of a point easier at 1,719.84, and moved between 1,709.15 and 1,721.31 throughout the day.
On the broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers 590 to 450, while 596 counters were unchanged, 1,111 untraded, and 23 suspended.
Turnover narrowed to 3.43 billion units valued at RM2.50 billion from 3.48 billion units valued at RM2.79 billion on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, regional markets ended mixed as sentiment remained fragile, with elevated crude oil prices continuing to weigh on risk appetite after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels threatened to widen the conflict in West Asia.
Brent crude oil rose above US$94 per barrel after two tankers carrying Saudi crude reportedly reversed course in the Red Sea, underscoring the growing risk of disruptions to regional shipping routes, said Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng.
On the domestic front, he told Bernama that the recent pullback is a healthy consolidation following the FBM KLCI’s strong advance from around 1,655 to 1,735.
“The sell-off may present bargain-hunting opportunities in fundamentally sound large-cap stocks, particularly as resilient domestic fundamentals and renewed foreign fund inflows continue to underpin the broader recovery.
“However, geopolitical uncertainties and volatile oil prices are likely to keep trading sentiment cautious,” he said.
Hence, Thong expects the benchmark index to remain range-bound between 1,705 and 1,730 for the remainder of the week, with selective interest likely to centre on banking, energy, plantation, and other defensive counters.
Among the heavyweight counters, Maybank slipped eight sen to RM10.94, Public Bank shed five sen to RM5.15, Tenaga Nasional slid 28 sen to RM14.28, CIMB trimmed two sen to RM7.66, and IHH Healthcare shaved off 17 sen to RM8.33.
Among active stocks, Aimax and Nextgram Holdings inched up half a sen each to 1.5 sen and 4.5 sen, respectively, and Aimflex added three sen to 12 sen. Zetrix AI eased 1.5 sen to 71.5 sen, and Tanco Holdings decreased one sen to 30.5 sen.
Among top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries climbed 92 sen to RM47.76, United Plantations added 30 sen to RM34.04, Petronas Gas jumped 28 sen to RM17.68, and Kesm Industries rose 17 sen to RM4.25.
Nestle led the decliners, slipping RM1.60 to RM91.52, Hong Leong Industries dipped 44 sen to RM18.00, Batu Kawan sank 40 sen to RM20.90, and UMS Integration declined 29 sen to RM7.90.
Among the broader indices, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 46.76 points to 12,497.69, the FBM Emas Index was 53.80 points lower at 12,655.96, the FBM Top 100 Index shrank 58.87 points to 12,696.03, the FBM Mid 70 Index decreased by 51.96 points to 17,956.81 and the FBM ACE Index inched down 5.84 points to 4,961.02.
By sector, the Financial Services Index slumped 93.02 points to 20,207.11, and the Plantation Index tumbled 35.77 points to 9,321.24, while the Industrial Products and Services Index perked up 1.12 points to 188.36, and the Energy Index gained 4.01 points to 774.41.
The Main Market volume improved to 1.94 billion units valued at RM2.22 billion compared to 1.86 billion units valued at RM2.48 billion on Tuesday.
Warrants turnover dwindled to 970.20 million units worth RM130.98 million versus 1.11 billion units worth RM138.80 million previously.
The ACE Market volume expanded to 520.43 million units valued at RM151.15 million from 496.93 million units valued at RM171.87 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 151.97 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (427.01 million), construction (97.06 million), technology (693.81 million), financial services (70.93 million), property (197.46 million), plantation (30.53 million), real estate investment trusts (13.16 million), closed-end fund (8,400), energy (118.43 million), healthcare (55.90 million), telecommunications and media (19.05 million), transportation and logistics (28.92 million), utilities (36.35 million), and business trusts (9,600). — Bernama
Date: 22 July, 2026 8:00 pm
Source: Malay Mail
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