Bursa Malaysia ends higher on selective buying amid cautious regional cues
The FBM KLCI rose 8.43 points, or 0.49%, to 1,722.19 at the close after touching an intraday high of 1,726.75.
Source: The Star · Malay Mail · NST Online · Focus Malaysia · July 21, 2026 at 8:31 AM · AI-assisted report
Single-sourceKUALA LUMPUR, 21 JULY 2026 —
The FBM KLCI rose 8.43 points, or 0.49%, to 1,722.19 at the close after touching an intraday high of 1,726.75.
Market Impact
Dealers attributed the selective gains to heavyweight banking and defensive stocks, even as overall turnover remained subdued and caution persisted ahead of key economic releases and mixed global signals.
Turnover reached 3.7 billion shares worth RM2.8 billion, with gainers (576) narrowly outnumbering losers (550) and unchanged counters (563).
One dealer said the near-term outlook remained “cautiously constructive,” with gains expected to be gradual rather than broad-based.
“We expect the FBM KLCI to trade within a range over the coming weeks as investors balance supportive domestic factors against lingering external uncertainties,” the dealer said.
Positive catalysts cited included expectations of resilient corporate earnings, continued foreign investment into Malaysia’s data centre and infrastructure sectors, and stable domestic economic growth.
He warned that upside could be capped by global trade policy uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, concerns over the pace of global recovery, and the risk of profit-taking after recent gains.
Investors were also expected to stay selective ahead of the second-quarter earnings season, favouring companies with strong earnings visibility and defensive traits.
Among the gainers, Nestlé (Malaysia) Bhd rose RM1 to RM93, United Plantations added 30 sen to RM35, Critical Holdings advanced 24 sen to RM1.90, and Nationgate climbed 20 sen to RM1.17.
Technology and semiconductor stocks led the decliners, with Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd falling 46 sen to RM45.28.
UMS Integration Ltd shed 28 sen to RM8.03, UWC Bhd lost 13 sen to RM6.03, MI Technovation Bhd dropped 11 sen to RM4.87, and Unisem (M) Bhd declined 10 sen to RM4.56.
In the banking sector, Public Bank Bhd rose 15 sen to RM5.20, Malayan Banking Bhd added eight sen to RM11.04, RHB Bank Bhd climbed three sen to RM8.47, and AMMB Holdings Bhd gained one sen to RM6.49.
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd fell one sen to RM7.70, while Hong Leong Bank Bhd lost 10 sen to RM22.02.
Foreign investors were net buyers on Bursa Malaysia, with net purchases of RM141 million, while local institutions and retailers were net sellers, offloading RM136 million and RM5 million, respectively.
The ringgit strengthened 0.12% to 4.0735 against the US dollar, trimming its year-to-date loss to 0.3%, but slipped 0.15% to 3.1613 against the Singapore dollar.
Regional markets closed broadly lower, with the Nikkei 225 down 2.79% and the Kospi tumbling 6.37%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng bucked the trend with a 1.33% gain, while China’s CSI300 and Shanghai Composite each slipped 1.85%.
Related: Bursa Malaysia