KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 25): The local stock market suffered from strong selling pressure on Tuesday with over 900 losers at market close, as US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies hit global investor sentiment.

The bellwether FBM KLCI had fallen as much as 19.93 points or 1.26% to 1,564.32 points in the morning session, before closing down 16.22 points or 1.02% at 1,568.03 points — the lowest in three weeks. 23 out of 30 component stocks were in the red. 

Apex Securities head of research Kenneth Leong said the broader weak sentiment was largely affected by external headwinds on concerns over Trump’s trade policies, which may impact the global economic growth.

“This came after the Trump administration highlighted that tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada will proceed, while outlining stricter US semiconductor restrictions policies and urging key allies to strengthen their limitations on China's chip industry,” he told The Edge.

Trump said on Monday that tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports are "on time and on schedule" despite efforts by the countries to beef up border security and halt the flow of fentanyl into the US ahead of a March 4 deadline, Reuters reported. Trump had vowed to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican and most Canadian imports.

Market breadth was negative with losers outnumbering gainers at 905 to 217. Total traded volume stood at 3.14 billion shares valued at RM2.65 billion.

Note that the FBM KLCI declined 5% month on month in January — the steepest decline for the month since 1995. Year-to-date (YTD), the benchmark index is down 4.52%.

Nearly all indices on Bursa Malaysia declined on Tuesday, except for transport & logistics, which gained 0.79%.

The technology index fell the most in percentage terms, declining 3.13%, marking its lowest since September 2020. This was followed by healthcare (-2.63%), energy (-1.88%) and property (-1.76%).

In comparison, construction, utilities and REITs fared slightly better, down by 0.69%, 0.56% and 0.37% respectively.

Among heavyweight stocks, SD Guthrie Bhd (KL:SDG) was the hardest hit as its share price dropped 3.4% or 17 sen to RM4.83. Telekom Malaysia Bhd (KL:TM) fell 2.9% or 20 sen to RM6.70 and Axiata Group Bhd (KL:AXIATA) tumbled 2.8% or 60 sen to RM2.05.

In the US, the technology heavy Nasdaq fell 1.2%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.5% in Monday overnight trades.

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FBM KLCI down 1.02% to 1,568.03 on Feb 25, 2025