KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session in the red, in tandem with regional markets, as risk appetite for equities was dampened by the ongoing Middle East conflict.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 17.59 points or 1.02 per cent to 1,699.02, from Friday’s close of 1,716.61.
The benchmark index opened 27.97 points lower at 1,688.64 and fluctuated between 1,684.28 and 1,703.90 during the session.
Decliners thumped gainers 984 to 245, while 368 counters were unchanged, 1,028 untraded and 23 suspended.
Market turnover stood at 2.27 billion shares valued at RM1.99 billion.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 1.77 per cent to 4,906.84, Japan’s Nikkei 225 decreased 1.42 per cent to 58,012.46, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index went down 1.58 per cent to 26,209.91.
Mirroring Wall Street’s Friday selloff, the FBM KLCI faced a rocky start to March amid rising Middle East conflicts, said Hong Leong Investment Bank in a note today.
“Compared with June 2025’s Iranian missile/drone strikes on Israel, last week’s conflict was broader in scale and strategic impact, raising regional and geopolitical stakes.
“Investors also weighed February results and tariff uncertainty following the United States Supreme Court’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act ruling. Key supports are pegged at 1,663-1,680-1,700, while major resistances are seen at 1,730-1,754,” the investment bank said.
Among heavyweights, Press Metal advanced nine sen to RM7.22 and Hong Leong Bank gained 20 sen to RM23.48, while Maybank trimmed 18 sen to RM11.78 and Public Bank and CIMB both shed nine sen to RM4.84 and RM7.95, respectively.
On the most active list, Hibiscus Petroleum appreciated 23 sen to RM1.83 and Velesto edged up half-a-sen to 31 sen, while Pharmaniaga slid one sen to 28.5 sen, and both Zetrix AI and Capital A fell 3.5 sen each to 78.5 sen and 53.5 sen, respectively.
Among the top gainers, Petronas Chemicals surged 24 sen to RM3.24 and Petronas Dagangan jumped 22 sen to RM22.20, while IGB and Vstecs both expanded by 16 sen to RM3.96 and RM4.64, respectively.
As for the top losers, Nestle slipped RM2.60 to RM107.30, Fraser & Neave dipped 96 sen to RM33.98, Malaysian Pacific Industries trimmed 66 sen to RM31.30 and Hong Leong Industries depreciated 48 sen to RM18.24.
On the index board, the FBMT100 Index lost 133.66 points to 12,300.16, the FBM Emas Index dropped 136.60 points to 12,474.83, the FBM70 Index slid 216.68 points to 17,325.79, the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 113.81 points to 12,103.75, and the FBM ACE Index retreated 122.99 points to 4,597.26.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index shrank 225.62 points to 20,856.18 and the Plantation Index eased 75.07 points to 8,194.50, while the Industrial Products and Services Index gained 0.23 of-a-point to 171.06, and the Energy Index added 5.49 points to 759.23. – BERNAMA
