Bursa Malaysia mixed: Heavyweights steady, tech counters eye rebound on US chip surge

Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index edged higher in early trade on Tuesday despite weaker broader market sentiment. — Bernama pic

First Published: Tuesday, 20 Oct 2026 10:45 AM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index edged higher in early trade on Tuesday despite weaker broader market sentiment.

At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.36 of a point, or 0.02 per cent, to 1,596.11 from Monday’s close of 1,595.75. The index had opened 3.18 points lower at 1,592.57.

Across the broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers 201 to 156, while 302 counters were unchanged, 2,181 remained untraded and 10 were suspended.

Turnover stood at 180.64 million units worth RM90.02 million.

Apex Securities Bhd expects the FBM KLCI to draw support from Wall Street’s overnight rebound, with the Nasdaq Composite rising 1.11 per cent and the S&P 500 gaining 0.41 per cent, led by a recovery in artificial intelligence-related semiconductor and memory stocks.

However, weak market breadth and elevated US Treasury yields could limit the positive spillover, with the 10-year and 30-year yields at approximately 5.15 per cent and 5.48 per cent, respectively, the brokerage said.

“Overall, the FBM KLCI is likely to trade within a range, with investors remaining selective and favouring domestically driven and defensive counters,” Apex Securities said.

It added that technology counters could rebound alongside US chip stocks, while energy counters could remain supported by oil prices near US$100 per barrel.

Construction stocks could also benefit from data centre projects, while real estate investment trusts (REITs) and property counters could remain under pressure amid elevated US Treasury yields, the brokerage said.

Heavyweight stocks traded mixed. Maybank rose four sen to RM9.94, Public Bank added one sen to RM4.72 and CIMB gained two sen to RM7.17. Hong Leong Bank was flat at RM21.10, while TNB shed six sen to RM12.92 and YTL Power fell five sen to RM5.21.

In active trade, GIIB advanced 1.5 sen to 70.5 sen and Ni Hsin gained one sen to 45.5 sen. Zetrix AI and OCR were unchanged at five sen and 4.5 sen, respectively, while Top Glove eased half a sen to 88.5 sen and LYC slipped one sen to half a sen.

Nestle led the top gainers, rising 40 sen to RM90.30. MISC added 14 sen to RM9.49, Petron gained 11 sen to RM3.45 and Press Metal advanced five sen to RM6.73.

On the losing side, KESM fell 15 sen to RM4.54, Kerjaya Prospek shed 10 sen to RM3.22, UWC lost nine sen to RM7.21 and Kim Hin declined 8.5 sen to 80.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 1.31 points to 11,908.38, while the FBM Top 100 Index declined 1.18 points to 11,704.04.

The FBM Mid 70 Index slipped 17.71 points to 17,116.03, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 13.83 points to 11,860.36, and the FBM ACE Index eased 1.58 points to 5,391.71.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 55.25 points to 18,546.22, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.40 points to 174.5. The Plantation Index fell 62.97 points to 8,590.4, while the Energy Index added 1.67 points to 825.23. — Bernama