Bursa Malaysia ends lower as regional markets weaken on AI spending concerns

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 7.20 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 1,604.36 from last Friday’s close of 1,611.56. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

First Published: Monday, 26 Oct 2026 5:54 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — Bursa Malaysia closed lower on Monday, weighed down by selling pressure in selected heavyweights, mainly utilities and banking stocks, alongside weaker performances across regional markets.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 7.20 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 1,604.36 from last Friday’s close of 1,611.56.

The benchmark index opened 0.44 of a point firmer at 1,612.00, its highest level today, before hitting its lowest level of 1,600.45 during the late afternoon session.

However, the broader market was slightly positive, with gainers edging losers 549 to 514, while 508 counters were unchanged, 1,330 untraded, and 59 suspended.

Turnover fell to  2.90 billion units worth RM2.15 billion from last Friday’s 3.18 billion units worth RM2.69 billion.  

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said selling pressure persisted in utility and banking heavyweights amid thin trading volume.

He noted that regional markets ended broadly lower, weighed down by weakness in technology stocks as investors questioned the sustainability of substantial spending on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and the potential returns on such investments.

“Back home, buying interest shifted towards energy stocks, supported by persistently high crude oil prices. We believe bargain hunting will emerge given the recent weakness, particularly in stocks that have corrected sharply despite having sound fundamentals.

“Nevertheless, subdued liquidity, elevated oil prices and uncertainty ahead of the United States (US) Federal Reserve’s policy decision this week could limit any rebound. We expect the FBM KLCI to trade within 1,590–1,620 for the week,” he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweight stocks, Maybank fell eight sen to RM9.98, Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional each trimmed two sen to RM4.73 and RM13.28, respectively, CIMB lost five sen to RM7.10, and IHH Healthcare gave up six sen to RM7.84.

In active trade, Zetrix AI was flat at 7.5 sen, Ni Hsin and JAKS Resources slipped1.5 sen each to 47.5 sen and 15 sen, respectively, while Axteria gained 5.5 sen to 19.5 sen, and Nexgram edged up half a sen to six sen.

Nestle led the top gainers, rising 72 sen to RM90.26, Malaysian Pacific Industries garnered 58 sen to RM40.58, both Stratus Global and ViTrox Corporation climbed 26 sen to RM2.60 and RM10.72, respectively, and PPB Group added 24 sen to RM9.02.

Among the top losers, United Plantations fell 50 sen to RM29.90, YTL Power decreased 36 sen to RM4.96, Country View slid 20 sen to RM2.66, while Sarawak Plantation and Far East declined 14 sen each to RM4.15 and RM3.95, respectively.