
KLCI Slips At Midday While Mid-Caps Muscle Ahead
The FBM 70 outperformed with a 0.43% gain or 71.76 points to 16,609.66, while the FBM Shariah Index added 26.62 points to 11,459.06. The broader FBM EMAS Index saw a marginal rise of 0.05 points to 11,468.19, and the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia Index eased slightly by 0.24 points to 927.31.
Market sentiment was buoyed by persistent interest in small and mid-cap counters, evident in the most actively traded stocks. PMCC Group topped the list with over 1.3 billion shares traded, rising half a sen to 22.5 sen. NEXG climbed 1 sen to 44.5 sen with over 500 million shares changing hands, while MRCB surged 4 sen to 54.5 sen amid brisk trading.
Zetrix, however, edged down 0.5 sen to 96.5 sen despite active trading, while Tanco gained 0.5 sen to 89.5 sen.
Investor focus remained on global macroeconomic cues and regional developments, with the upcoming US inflation data and continued geopolitical tensions weighing on risk appetite. At the same time, Malaysia's domestic corporate updates and government-led digitalisation efforts have kept retail interest alive in technology and construction-related counters.
Overall, sentiment appeared cautious ahead of fresh catalysts, with investors taking a wait-and-see approach in the lead-up to earnings season and regional monetary policy cues. Related
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
8 hours ago
- The Star
FBM KLCI slips to intraday low; NationGate falls on MACC raid
KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI closed at its intraday low on Tuesday, underperforming regional peers as selling pressure and cautious sentiment weighed on the local market, despite broad gains across major Asian bourses. The FBM KLCI slipped 12.11 points, or 0.8%, to close at its intraday low of 1,525.40. It had earlier touched a high of 1,538.56. Today's decline marks the index's biggest drop since it fell 0.82% on July 7. Selling pressure persisted as 601 counters fell while 412 rose, bringing market breadth to 0.14. Decliners outpaced gainers, reflecting a cautious tone in the broader market. Traded volume stood at 3.1 billion shares valued at RM2.4bil. Among the decliners, Heineken slid 40 sen to RM24.50, Malaysian Pacific Industries fell 38 sen to RM20.40, F&N declined 28 sen t RM28.70 and Hong Leong Bank gave up 26 sen to RM19.30. Gainers included Riverview, which rose 15 sen to RM3.00, Master-Pack, which added 12 sen to RM3.15, United Plantations, which gained eight sen to RM21.70, and KPS Consortium , which climbed 7.5 sen to 56.5 sen. NationGate Holdings fell 12 sen, or 7.45%, to RM1.49 with 160.51 million shares traded, making it one of the most active counters on Bursa Malaysia. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, Nationgate announced that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had raided the premises of one of its subsidiaries as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged scrap metal smuggling. Earlier in the day, it was reported that the MACC had launched a major operation targeting scrap metal smuggling syndicates across five states, with the illicit activities estimated to have caused over RM950mil in lost tax revenue. NationGate Holdings fell 12 sen, or 7.45%, to RM1.49 with 160.51 million shares traded, making it one of the most active counters on Bursa Malaysia. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has conducted a raid at the premises of a subsidiary of Nationgate as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of scrap metal smuggling, the company announced in a stock exchange filing today. It was reported earlier today that the MACC has launched a major crackdown on scrap metal smuggling syndicates in five states. These smuggling activities were reported to have resulted in an estimated tax revenue loss of over RM950mil. Meanwhile, the ringgit strengthened 0.29% against the US dollar to 4.2410, and rose 0.3% against the Singapore dollar to 3.3108. In contrast with the local bourse, regional markets ended higher. MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was higher by 1.05%. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.55%, South Korea's Kospi gained 0.41%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 1.6%, China's CSI 300 edged up 0.035%, and Singapore's Straits Times Index added 0.3%.


Free Malaysia Today
9 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Bursa ends at intraday low on selective heavyweight selling
KUALA LUMPUR : Bursa Malaysia ended at an intraday low today due to persistent selling in selected heavyweights, led by the financial services and construction sectors. UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd's head of investment research Sedek Jantan said the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI's (FBM KLCI) drop today reflected a cautious undertone among investors despite an improvement in broader market sentiment. 'Investor focus remains firmly on the progress of the US-Malaysia tariff negotiations, with the Aug 1 deadline for the imposition of a 25% import duty drawing near. 'The market appears to be factoring in a drawn-out negotiation process, contributing to prevailing risk aversion,' he told Bernama. Meanwhile, he said the investment, trade and industry ministry's (Miti) announcement on trade permit for artificial intelligence (AI) chips is a welcome step towards regulatory clarity, while persistent concerns over potential US export controls on AI chip shipments to Malaysia continue to cast a shadow over sentiment, particularly within the technology and semiconductor sectors. 'Nonetheless, from a medium to longer-term perspective, we see the strengthening of governance and compliance standards as a positive structural shift that may enhance Malaysia's competitive positioning within global value chains, potentially serving as a future catalyst for investor confidence,' he added. At 5pm, the FBM KLCI fell 12.11 points or 0.79% to 1,525.40 from yesterday's close of 1,537.51. Public Bank eased eight sen to RM4.26, Maybank slid seven sen to RM9.65 and Gamuda gave up 13 sen to RM4.96. These counters dragged the composite index down by 5.42 points. The benchmark index opened 1.45 points lower at 1,536.06 and hovered between 1,525.40 and 1,538.56 throughout the session. The market breadth was negative, with 601 decliners outpacing 412 gainers and 498 counters unchanged, while 918 were untraded and eight suspended. Turnover improved to 3.07 billion shares worth RM2.36 billion, compared with 2.93 billion shares worth RM1.67 billion yesterday. Among other heavyweight counters, CIMB reduced six sen to RM6.63, Hong Leong Bank lost 26 sen to RM19.30, Tenaga Nasional decreased eight sen to RM13.90, 99 Speed Mart added three sen to RM2.30 and Sunway rose four sen to RM4.92. In active trade, Zetrix AI was 5.5 sen lower at 93 sen, NationGate shed 12 sen to RM1.49, Dagang NeXchange weakened one sen to 30.5 sen, NexG gained 0.5 sen to 47.5 sen while Tanco was flat at 90.5 sen. On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 82.38 points to 11,476.08, the FBMT 100 Index sank 83.43 points to 11,237.61 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 77.42 points to 11,483.18. The FBM 70 Index dropped 98.80 points to 16,688.40, while the FBM ACE Index improved 16.10 points to 4,587.62. By sector, the financial services index dipped 161.22 points to 17,502.65, the industrial products and services index shaved 0.48 of-a-point to 153.39 and the plantation index eased 15.68 points to 7,418.42. The energy index inched down 8.46 points to 738.92. The Main Market volume rebounded to 1.44 billion units worth RM2.07 billion from 1.13 billion units valued at RM1.35 billion yesterday. Warrants turnover slipped to 1.28 billion units valued at RM172.45 million from 1.46 billion units worth RM208.01 million previously. The ACE Market volume increased to 347.59 million units valued at RM122.67 million versus 342.18 million units worth RM113.55 million yesterday. Consumer products and services counters accounted for 171.02 million shares traded on the Main Market; industrial products and services (350.21 million), construction (107.34 million), technology (365.39 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (54.91 million), property (134.33 million), plantation (13.85 million), REITs (28.72 million), closed-end fund (3,400), energy (69.98 million), healthcare (50.38 million), telecommunications and media (30.08 million), transportation and logistics (37.56 million), utilities (28.22 million), and business trusts (24,300).


Focus Malaysia
10 hours ago
- Focus Malaysia
Elridge Energy welcomes its first GLIC-linked substantial shareholder in Urusharta Jamaah
BIOENERGY-based Elridge Energy Holdings Bhd has landed its biggest government-linked institutional investor (GLIC) to-date after Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd emerged the company's substantial shareholder with direct holding of 105.19 million shares or 5.26% stake in the company. This came about after the Minister of Finance Inc wholly owned investment holding and asset management company acquired 7.19 million shares in Elridge on July 9 via Citigroup Nominees (Tempatan) Sdn Bhd, according to the company's Bursa Malaysia filing today (July 15). The group which is principally involved in the manufacturing and trading of biomass fuel products, particularly PKS (palm kernel shells) and wood pellets, was listed on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia on Aug 22 last year. Other major institutional investors in Elridge include Mikro MSC Bhd (20.62% stake/412.5 million shares); Kayavest Sdn Bhd (16.37%/327.32 million shares); Bio Eneco Holding Sdn Bhd (9.32%/186.5 million shares) and Norges Bank Investment Management (2.95%/59 million shares). Elridge kickstarted its 1Q FY2025 ended March 31, 2025 on a positive note with a net profit of RM13.58 mil on the back of RM109.67 mil in revenue that were mainly contributed by customers based in Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia. PKS remain the cornerstone of the group's operations by contributing RM95.81 mil or 87.36% of total revenue while the remaining RM13.87 mil was derived from the trading and manufacturing of wood pellets. According to Coherent Market Insights, the PKS industry in Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 8.9% from US$308.6 mil (RM1.4 bil) in 2024 to US$366.1 mil (RM1.7 bil) by 2026. The wood pellet market in the region is also forecast to expand at a CAGR of 8.6% to reach USD$12.5 bil (RM57.1 bil) in 2026 from US$10.6 bil (RM48.4 bil) in 2024. 'To support this growing market, we're executing our expansion plan with the development of new manufacturing sites in Pasir Gudang (Johor), Kuantan (Pahang) and Lahad Datu (Sabah),' revealed the group's executive director and CEO Oliver Yeo. 'These facilities will each house two PKS production lines with a combined annual output of 240,000 metric tonnes per site. The capacity expansion will enhance our ability to secure long-term export contracts and reinforce our position in the regional biomass supply chain.' At the close of today's (July 15) market trading, Elridge was up 0.5 sen or 0.79% to 64 sen with 17.48 million shares traded, thus valuing the company at RM1.28 bil. – July 15, 2025