KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — Bursa Malaysia ended at its intraday low on Monday, in line with the broader regional risk-off tone as selling pressure spread across key index heavyweights, dragging all major indices into negative territory amid cautious regional sentiment and softer global risk appetite.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped by 12.51 points, or 0.72 per cent, to 1,727.71 from last Friday’s close of 1,740.22.
The benchmark index, which opened 1.72 points higher at 1,741.94, moved between 1,727.71 and 1,742.60 throughout the day.
Market breadth was negative with losers trumping gainers 835 to 410, while 512 counters were unchanged, 957 untraded, and 32 suspended.
Turnover was lower at 3.51 billion units worth RM2.84 billion compared with 3.92 billion units worth RM3.46 billion last Friday.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist, Mohd Sedek Jantan said market sentiment remained pressured by escalating geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the Iran conflict and hotter-than-expected United States (US) consumer price index and producer price index data, which reinforced expectations of a more prolonged higher-for-longer US interest rate environment.
“Regional markets were lower amid concerns that rising oil prices could further complicate the global inflation outlook, while Brent crude continued to climb on fears of potential supply disruptions,” he told Bernama.
Locally, he said losses were led by consumer discretionary and telecommunication counters, while gains remained limited and concentrated in selected petrochemical stocks benefiting from firmer energy prices.
“Despite the softer close, the downside remained relatively contained compared with regional peers, supported by Malaysia’s commodity-linked exposure and resilient domestic liquidity conditions,” he added.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI’s performance was in tandem with global market weakness as unresolved tensions between the US and Iran continued to cloud sentiment.
“We advise investors to stay alert for bargain-hunting opportunities, particularly in fundamentally strong blue-chip counters that have retreated alongside the broader market.
“While sentiment is likely to remain cautious in the near term due to elevated geopolitical risks and higher oil prices, the recent pullback may gradually attract selective accumulation activities,” he said.
Looking ahead, he expects the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,720-1,750 for the week.
Among heavyweights, IHH Healthcare edged up one sen to RM9.05, while Maybank eased two sen to RM11.08, Public Bank and CIMB slid eight sen each to RM4.83 and RM7.80, respectively, and Tenaga Nasional slipped 10 sen to RM14.44.
On the most active list, Oppstar rose 14.5 sen to 93 sen, GIIB increased 1.5 sen to 30.5 sen, Top Glove gained half a sen to 32.5 sen and EG Industries was 11 sen firmer at RM1.56, while V.S Industry inched down half a sen to 20 sen.
Among top gainers, MKH improved 27 sen to RM1.73, Vitrox Corporation advanced 21 sen to RM6.20 and Westports was 17 sen higher at RM5.98, while Hong Leong Industries and Petronas Chemicals widened 14 sen each to RM18.48 and RM5.73, respectively.
As for the top losers, Nestle lost RM4.80 to RM95.40, Petronas Dagangan shed 76 sen to RM19.54, Malaysian Pacific Industries erased 60 sen to RM43.50, Petronas Gas was 34 sen lower at RM17.84 and Fraser & Neave sank by 30 sen to RM28.70.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index reduced 90.10 points to 12,804.77, the FBMT 100 Index lost 90.57 points to 12,642.74, the FBM Mid 70 Index declined 127.50 points to 18,377.51, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased by 73.78 points to 12,749.07, and the FBM ACE Index edged down 22.69 points to 4,720.05.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index rose 22.49 points to 8,607.92, the Industrial Products and Services Index shrank 0.29 of a point to 199.66, the Financial Services Index dropped 135.91 points to 20,118.40, and the Energy Index weakened 1.82 points to 807.07.
The Main Market volume slipped to 1.80 billion units valued at RM2.45 billion, from 1.90 billion units valued at RM3.06 billion last Friday.
Warrants turnover fell to 1.02 billion units worth RM135.05 million from 1.26 billion units worth RM176.50 million previously.
The ACE Market volume decreased to 684.71 million units valued at RM254.32 million from 746.94 million units valued at RM216.80 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 255.68 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (402.61 million), construction (160.41 million), technology (276.26 million), financial services (56.71 million), property (233.17 million), plantation (43.43 million), real estate investment trusts (14.26 million), closed-end fund (5,000), energy (124.78 million), healthcare (131.26 million), telecommunications and media (25.03 million), transportation and logistics (41.67 million), utilities (38.20 million), and business trusts (30,700). — Bernama
Date: 18 May, 2026 7:00 pm
Source: Malay Mail
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