Bursa Malaysia stays lower at midday with regional tech sell-off
Bursa Malaysia stays lower at midday with regional tech sell-off The Star
Source: The Star · July 28, 2026 at 7:13 AM · AI-assisted report
Single-sourceBURSA MALAYSIA, 28 JULY 2026 —
KUALA LUMPUR — Bursa Malaysia extended its decline at midday on Monday, mirroring a broader regional sell-off in technology stocks following reports that US chipmaker Nvidia was in talks with OpenAI to secure a US$250 billion funding backstop.
Market Impact
At 12:30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 0.24 point to 1,712.85, down from Friday’s close of 1,713.09. The benchmark index opened 1.14 points lower at 1,711.95 and fluctuated between 1,703.83 and 1,713.25 during the morning session.
Market breadth was negative, with 691 decliners outpacing 252 gainers, while 473 counters remained unchanged. A total of 1,364 stocks were untraded and 36 were suspended. Trading volume stood at 1.66 billion shares valued at RM1.19 billion.
The regional sell-off was pronounced, with South Korea’s KOSPI plummeting 9.72% to 6,098.95, Japan’s Nikkei dropping 3.89% to 62,407.25, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shedding 0.11% to 25,178.21. Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.21% to 5,608.54, while Indonesia’s IDX Composite Index declined 0.04% to 6,183.16. China’s SSE Composite Index also slipped 0.98% to 3,820.52.
Sector and Stock Movements Heavyweight stocks led the declines, with Petronas Chemicals falling 13 sen to RM4.62, 99 Speedmart down nine sen to RM3.61, Sunway Healthcare and Axiata each down four sen to RM1.91 and RM1.94 respectively, and IOI Corporation losing six sen to RM4.39.
Among active stocks, V.S Industry and SNS Network Technology each fell one sen to 22 sen and 55 sen respectively, while Dagang Exchange dropped two sen to 43 sen. Tanco bucked the trend, gaining half a sen to 25 sen.
On the gainers side, Nestlé advanced 48 sen to RM91.78, Ideal Capital jumped 25 sen to RM4.00, Tenaga Nasional rose 20 sen to RM14.66, Dutch Lady Milk Industries added 18 sen to RM32.00, and KLCC Property and REITs increased 16 sen to RM8.85.
Malaysian Pacific Industries led the losers, falling RM2.12 to RM43.94, followed by UMS Integration, which shed 58 sen to RM7.32. Batu Kawan lost 48 sen to RM20.70, Allianz declined 28 sen to RM21.02, and Kelington slipped 24 sen to RM7.97.
Index Performance The FBM Emas Index fell 18.97 points to 12,644.21, the FBMT 100 Index declined 12.93 points to 12,478.73, and the FBM Mid 70 Index dropped 66.32 points to 17,903.70. The FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 30.02 points to 12,456.84, while the FBM ACE Index eased 56.08 points to 4,862.79.
By sector, the Energy Index fell 5.05 points to 764.29, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 1.43 points to 185.41, and the Plantation Index slumped 60.38 points to 9,224.13. The Financial Services Index was the sole gainer, up 5.71 points to 20,246.38.
Market Outlook Analysts attributed the broad-based weakness to heightened risk aversion following Nvidia’s reported engagement with OpenAI, which raised concerns over potential shifts in global tech investment flows and capital allocation. The decline in Bursa Malaysia mirrored losses across regional bourses, underscoring the sensitivity of Asian markets to developments in the US technology sector.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng told Bernama that the news had translated into weaker regional market performance, with sharp declines in South Korea and Japan setting the tone for broader Asian equity weakness.
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