KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 13): Malaysia’s benchmark stocks ended Friday at a fresh 14-month low as investors continued to trim investments related to data centres.

The 30-stock FBM KLCI dropped as much as 6.3 points or 0.4% to 1,579.66, its lowest since September 2025. Construction firm Gamuda Bhd (KL:GAMUDA) was down nearly 3% to RM4.56 while national electric utility company Tenaga Nasional Bhd (KL:TENAGA) fell 0.3% to RM12.76.

After five consecutive sessions of decline, the benchmark index also suffered over 2% weekly loss. Correction in artificial intelligence trades and uncertainty surrounding Nvidia’s leadership could trigger further selling pressure in the near term.

Initial public offerings and share placements in the final months of 2026 could also drain liquidity from the market in a relatively low cash environment, said AmInvestment Bank head of equity research Paul Yap Ee Xing.

"We are more constructive heading into 2027,” he said, noting that banks in particular are trading at near-trough valuations with dividend yields of around 6%. “We believe these levels are increasingly difficult to ignore and could set the stage for a sector-led market recovery.”

Malaysian banking stocks have been hammered by rising bond yields in recent months. Higher yields generally hurt banks as they take larger paper losses from lower prices of the bonds they hold, which eats into capital and forces them to book losses if they sell.

Still, there are opportunities for bargain hunting in the short term, according to Loui Low Ley Yee, head of research at Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd. “We believe the market has entered oversold territory, potentially setting the stage for a technical rebound in the coming weeks,” he said.

December is historically a good month for the FBM KLCI, with a success rate of over 90% over the past 25 years, suggesting a potential upside of 2% to 3% towards year-end, Low noted.

The KLCI will be back above 1,600 by the year end, he added.