KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — Bursa Malaysia recorded a decline of 0.82 per cent at the close today with the diversified composition of the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) helping to cushion the impact of global market weakness.

Global markets were jittery amid resurfacing geopolitical tensions in West Asia and heavy selling in global technology counters.

At 5 pm, the FBM KLCI finished 13.91 points lower at 1,679.52 from last Friday’s close of 1,693.43.

The benchmark index opened 9.89 points weaker at 1,683.54 and traded between 1,676.95 and 1,684.14 throughout the session.

Losers surpassed gainers in the broader market by 916 to 340, while 455 counters were unchanged, 964 untraded and 13 suspended.

Turnover inched up to 3.48 billion units worth RM2.92 billion from 3.41 billion units worth RM3.04 billion  last Friday.

Regionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.22 per cent to 24,657.06, Singapore’s Straits Times Index slipped 1.65 per cent to 4,966.47, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 3.85 per cent to 64,024.60 and South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index, which was halted earlier after it plunged more than eight per cent, tumbled 8.29 per cent to 7,484.41.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said Bursa Malaysia demonstrated notable resilience relative to its regional peers despite ending in negative territory.

“The decline in the FBM KLCI was considerably milder than those recorded in major regional markets such as South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam and even Singapore, where equities came under greater pressure amid the global risk-off environment,” he said.

Mohd Sedek added that the FBM KLCI has a lower concentration of technology stocks compared with many regional benchmarks.

“While technology-heavy markets were more vulnerable to the sharp correction in US semiconductor and AI-related stocks, the diversified composition of the FBM KLCI helped cushion the impact of the external shock,” he said.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Brent crude rose above US$97 per barrel on concerns over supply disruptions.

“As for Bursa Malaysia, investors are cautious due to the potential impact of elevated oil prices on global inflation and interest rate expectation due to the geopolitical tensions,” he added.

Persistent foreign selling and the lack of strong market catalysts may continue to weigh on sentiment in the near term, he said.

“While bargain hunting could emerge intermittently following the recent correction, investors are likely to remain selective amid the uncertain external environment. As such, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to remain volatile and trade with a cautious tone, trending within the 1,670-1,690 range for the week,” he said.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank erased 10 sen to RM10.70, Public Bank retreated nine sen to RM4.78, Tenaga Nasional added six sen to RM14.20, IHH Healthcare lost 25 sen to RM8.60 while CIMB was flat at RM7.39.

Among the active stocks, Zetrix AI slipped half-a-sen to 82 sen, TFP Solutions was 2.5 sen better at 5.5 sen, Top Glove rose three sen to 84.5 sen while Hong Seng Consolidated and VS Industry were flat at one sen and 21 sen respectively.

As for the top gainers, Concrete Engineering jumped 65 sen to RM3.99, Ideal Capital surged 30 sen to RM4.10, PJBumi advanced 18 sen to RM3.45, and Kim Loong racked up 15 sen to RM2.70.

Among the top losers, Nestle gave up RM2.28 to RM92.00, Malaysian Pacific Industries dipped RM1.30 to RM45.50, Petronas Dagangan weakened 64 sen to RM18.60, Tanco was 47 sen lower at RM1.12.

Hong Leong Bank was 36 sen easier at RM20.96 and Hong Leong Financial was 34 sen lower at RM18.50.

Meanwhile, technology stocks, Nationgate Holdings down 3.5 sen to 76 sen, ViTrox Corporation lost 16 sen to RM6.74, Northeast Group erased six sen to RM1.00, Frontken Corporation was down 11 sen to RM4.81, Inari Amerton was two sen easier at RM2.23 and Unisem was 17 sen lower at RM4.90. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 131.97 points to 12,470.08, the FBM Top 100 Index notched down 126.41 points to 12,315.49, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 127.11 points to 12,443.04.

The FBM Mid 70 Index dropped 289.20 points to 18,010.39 and the FBM ACE Index edged down 84.86 points to 4,648.38.

By sector, the Financial Services Index shrank 223.82 points to 19,560.49, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.73 points to 197.01, and the Energy Index slid 5.26 points to 790.94, but the Plantation Index gained 53.86 points to 8,725.40.

Main Market volume narrowed to 1.68 billion units valued at RM2.53 billion from 1.78 billion units valued at RM2.67 billion last Friday.

Warrants turnover rose to 1.25 billion units valued at RM188.07 million from 1.07 billion units valued at RM158.92 million previously.

ACE Market volume trimmed to 545.18 million units valued at RM194.35 million from 557.48 million units valued at RM208.90 million on Friday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 208.28 million shares traded on the Main Market, followed by industrial products and services (360.98 million), construction (132.83 million), technology (357.16 million), financial services (62.68 million), property (184.68 million), plantation (31.26 million), real estate investment trusts (15.12 million), closed-end funds (295,200), energy (106.22 million), healthcare (109.30 million), telecommunications and media (42.90 million), transportation and logistics (28.35 million), utilities (39.97 million), and business trusts (27,300). — Bernama

GENEVA, June 9 — Worldwide spending on nuclear weapons soared to a record high last year as atomic-armed countries moved more warheads from storage onto delivery systems, experts said today.

The nine nuclear-armed states jointly spent nearly US$119 billion (RM483 billion) on their arsenals last year, up 19 per cent from 2024, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

“A new nuclear arms race is upon us,” its report warned.

ICAN, and a separate study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released on Monday, voiced alarm at the growing nuclear risk amid swelling geopolitical tensions.

The dramatic spending hike on nuclear weapons came as countries rushed to modernise their arsenals and deploy more of their stockpiles, the studies showed.

Susi Snyder, ICAN’s director of programmes and co-author of the latest report, said the scale-up, coupled with fears that artificial intelligence could increase the risk of nuclear weapons use, was deeply alarming.

“To be perfectly honest, I’m terrified,” she told AFP.

US Ballistic Missile Submarine USS Kentucky is anchored at Busan Naval Base, in Busan, South Korea, July 19, 2023. — Woohae Cho/Pool/Reuters pic

‘Risks are rising’ 

SIPRI’s report highlighted that the total estimated number of nuclear warheads had been declining for decades, falling to 12,187 at the start of this year, but warned the number of weapons available for potential use had risen, to 9,745.

“Even though we have lower numbers of nuclear weapons, the level of nuclear dangers and nuclear risks are rising,” SIPRI director Karim Haggag told AFP.

He pointed to worrying signs, including the breakdown in strategic arms controls and competition between great powers with nuclear arms.

SIPRI predicted that overall nuclear arms stockpiles were likely to begin growing again in coming years “as the pace of dismantlement is slowing, while the deployment of new nuclear weapons is accelerating”.

The United States and Russia together hold around 83 per cent of the world’s nuclear arms stockpile, with more than 5,000 warheads each. China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country, SIPRI said, estimating that it counts around 620 warheads.

“Intensifying geopolitical competition means a very strong incentive on the part of China to increase its reliance on nuclear weapons,” Haggag said.

ICAN’s report indicated that all nuclear-armed states, which also include Britain, France, India, Israel, North Korea and Pakistan, were increasing investments in their arsenals.

The nine countries jointly spent nearly US$17 billion more last year than in 2024 on the weapons of mass destruction.

Washington spent more than all the other countries combined, dishing out US$69.2 billion on nuclear weapons in 2025 — an increase of US$12.4 billion from a year earlier, ICAN said.

The United States was followed by China, which was estimated to have spent US$13.5 billion last year, then Britain at US$12.6 billion and Russia at US$9.5 billion, it said.

Over the past five years, it determined that the nine countries had spent over US$470 billion on their arsenals.

Long lifespans 

Those investments are expected to grow going forward.

Examining longer term projections, ICAN highlighted figures from Britain, France and the United States showing plans to spend billions to develop and maintain nuclear weapons systems well into the next century.

Other countries too were introducing new weapons systems with long lifespans, it said.

The report pointed out that planned new US Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missiles were expected to remain operational past 2100, while swelling US plutonium pit production indicated that the country’s warheads would last through 2120.

That will mean significant investment, with US nuclear arms spending over just the decade between 2025 and 2034 projected at close to US$1 trillion.

Researchers said the huge sums were particularly jarring at a time when the global humanitarian system was reeling from dramatic funding cuts.

Just a single day of nuclear weapons spending last year could have provided food security to more than two million people, they said.

Instead of providing aid or healthcare for their populations, the nuclear-armed states were investing in “an arsenal that they themselves know they cannot use without committing a war crime”, Snyder said.

“There seems to be a total disconnect from reality.” — AFP