Bursa Malaysia ends lower as profit-taking gathers pace
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI fell 1.92 points, or 0.11%, to 1,720.37 on Tuesday as early gains faded under selling pressure, with the index nearly reversing its 3.33-point opening jump.
Source: Free Malaysia Today · NST Online · July 21, 2026 at 6:23 PM · AI-assisted report
Single-sourceMALAYSIA, 22 JULY 2026 —
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI fell 1.92 points, or 0.11%, to 1,720.37 on Tuesday as early gains faded under selling pressure, with the index nearly reversing its 3.33-point opening jump.
Market Impact
Profit-takers stepped in after the benchmark opened at 1,725.62, pushing trade into a range of 1,712.66 to 1,726.88 before the close, according to exchange data. Turnover rose to 3.48 billion shares worth RM2.79 billion, up from Monday’s 3.27 billion shares valued at RM2.21 billion, with advancers beating decliners 579 to 512.
Regional equities firmed as improving Middle East diplomacy lifted risk appetite and weighed on crude oil futures, said Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng. He flagged upcoming quarterly results from US technology giants Alphabet, Tesla and Intel as the next major catalyst, warning investors want proof that AI-related investments are translating into revenue growth and margins.
“Investors will closely monitor whether heavy AI bets are generating real earnings,” Thong told Bernama. Domestically, he expects the FBM KLCI to remain range-bound between 1,710 and 1,740 this week, with buying likely to stay selective until the US earnings are digested. Thong added that softer oil prices and resilient domestic fundamentals could provide near-term support, while sustained foreign inflows and strong large-cap accumulation should limit downside risk.
By sector, the financial services index edged up 1.95 points to 20,300.13, while the energy gauge fell 5.36 points to 770.40. The plantation index was the day’s weakest performer, down 136.53 points to 9,357.01 after heavyweight losses in United Plantations and Kuala Lumpur Kepong.
Heavyweights were mixed: Maybank and IHH Healthcare held flat at RM11.02 and RM8.50 respectively. Public Bank rose one sen to RM5.20, Tenaga Nasional gained 26 sen to RM14.56, and CIMB slipped seven sen to RM7.68.
Newly listed Stratus Global led the Main Market advance, jumping RM1.31 to RM2.11. VS Industry added 2.5 sen to 25 sen, Zetrix AI edged up one sen to 73 sen, Dagang NeXchange rose two sen to 46.5 sen, and Aimax was unchanged at one sen.
Among broader gauges, the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 14.80 points to 12,544.45, the FBM Emas Index added 8.58 points to 12,709.76 and the FBM Top 100 Index gained 5.97 points to 12,538.13. The mid-cap and ACE segments outperformed: the FBM Mid 70 Index jumped 93.89 points to 18,008.78, while the FBM ACE Index rose 56.09 points to 4,966.86.
Technology led sectoral turnover with 657.64 million shares, followed by industrial products and services at 405.41 million. Main Market consumer counters accounted for 122.01 million shares, while energy and healthcare lagged at 147.26 million and 73.57 million shares respectively.
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