KUALA LUMPUR (March 25): Bursa Malaysia closed lower on Monday, weighed by selling pressure in telecommunication, plantation, and gaming stocks.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined by 4.85 points to 1,537.54 from last Friday’s (March 22) close of 1,542.39. 

The benchmark index opened 2.16 points lower at 1,540.23, and moved in a tight range between 1,532.73 and 1,540.23 throughout the day.  

On the broader market, losers beat gainers 587 to 476, while 456 counters were unchanged, 817 untraded, and 37 others suspended.

Turnover fell to 3.59 billion units worth RM2.49 billion from 5.08 billion units worth RM2.69 billion on Friday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the the KLCI faced selling pressure as investors shifted their focus on small-cap stocks in the transportation & logistics, property, and construction sectors.

“Major regional indices also ended lower as sentiment remained cautious ahead of key economic readings this week, including China's purchasing managers' index and US inflation data,” he said.

Thong advised investors to proceed with caution and consider external factors such as increasing market risks and elevated volatility in global markets.

“We anticipate the FBM KLCI to remain in consolidation mode for the time being until fresh catalysts emerge.

“Consequently, we expect it to trend within the 1,530-1,550 range for the week, with immediate support at 1,530 and resistance at 1,560,” he added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank Bhd added three sen to RM9.62, Public Bank Bhd was flat at RM4.24, while CIMB Group Holdimngs Bhd declined five sen to RM6.50, Tenaga Nasional Bhd slid six sen to RM11.50, and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd eased a sen to RM6.78.

As for the actives, Velesto Energy Bhd and TWL Holdings Bhd added half a sen each to 29 sen and three sen respectively, Eversendai Corp Bhd gained a sen to 34 sen, while Sapura Energy Bhd slipped half a sen to four sen, and Alpha IVF Group Bhd shed a sen to 31 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dipped 14.11 points to 11,540.99, the FBMT 100 Index was 15.53 points lower at 11,188.65, the FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 20.75 points to 11,631.23, while the FBM 70 Index surged 59.17 points to 16,029.87 and the FBM ACE Index perked up 24.53 points to 4,880.87.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index slipped 20.23 points to 7,316.44, the Industrial Products and Services Index trimmed 0.11 of a point to 178.62, the Financial Services Index shed 9.95 points to 17,178.93, while the Energy Index gained 5.03 points to 939.37.

The Main Market volume dwindled to 2.36 billion units valued at RM2.26 billion from 3.35 billion units valued at RM2.27 billion on Friday.

Warrants turnover declined to 585.33 million units worth RM82.39 million from 877.09 million units worth RM117.79 million last Friday.   

The ACE Market volume tumbled to 777.06 million shares worth RM207.82 million from 858.13 million shares worth RM296.59 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 246.17 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (428.29 million); construction (293.54 million); technology (154.99 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (94.97 million); property (421.14 million); plantation (71.03 million); REITs (19.98 million), closed/fund (62,800); energy (384.29 million); healthcare (53.91 million); telecommunications and media (35.05 million); transportation and logistics (59.06 million); and utilities (44.82 million).