Stocks in Bursa experience a partial rebound, ending slightly downwards

In today's trading session, the Malaysian stock market witnessed a mix of performances, with some sectors outperforming while others underperformed. The industrials sector, in particular, saw a double-digit rally in petrochemicals, propelling it to the forefront.

Plantations and consumer cyclicals also demonstrated resilience, indicating a robust domestic demand despite external policy uncertainty. This sector rotation was evident as various sectors including industrial products and services, construction, technology, financial services, property, plantation, REITs, closed-end fund, energy, healthcare, telecommunications and media, transportation and logistics, utilities, and business trusts were actively traded.

However, the broader market ended on a negative note, with decliners outpacing advancers. The benchmark index, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI), opened lower and moved between 1,583.40 and 1,591.04 throughout the day. By the close of trading, the FBM KLCI had slipped 2.03 points, or 0.13%, to close at 1,588.21.

The Main Market volume dipped to 1.46 billion units valued at RM2.28 billion, and turnover narrowed to 2.55 billion units worth RM2.5 billion from the previous day's RM2.74 billion. Consumer products and services counters accounted for 247.19 million shares traded on the Main Market.

Notable moves included Tenaga Nasional declining to RM13.66, CIMB falling to RM7.36, while IHH Healthcare rose to RM6.88. On the other hand, Maybank and Public Bank remained unchanged at RM9.80 and RM4.46, respectively.

In the equity research sector, Thong Pak Leng, Vice President for Equity Research at DBS Bank, viewed today's profit-taking as a healthy correction that allows the market to digest the recent strong uptrend. Meanwhile, the head of investment research at UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd, Sedek Jantan, stated that the broader market sentiment remains guarded ahead of policy signals from the US Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.

The financial services index slid to 18,165.14, the plantation index rose to 7,592.60, the industrial products and services index increased to 160.73, and the energy index decreased to 749.29. Other notable changes include Vantris Energy decreasing to 3.5 sen, Sime Darby trimming to RM1.75, while Zetrix AI added one sen to 87.5 and Tanco remained at 73 sen.

The ACE Market volume declined to 310.2 million units worth RM124.67 million. Warrants turnover improved to 780.41 million units worth RM93.66 million. A total of 487 counters were unchanged, 1,084 were untraded, and 16 were suspended.

Despite the mixed performance, the FBM KLCI is holding well above the key 1,585 support mark, setting the stage for further gains. Barring any external shocks, the benchmark index is expected to trade within the 1,570 to 1,600 range throughout the week.