KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed almost flat on Tuesday as buying interest rotated away from index heavyweights towards smaller-cap construction stocks, with sentiment affected by geopolitical uncertainty, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.39 of a point to 1,714.40 from Monday’s close of 1,714.79. The benchmark index opened 1.65 points lower at 1,713.14 and moved between 1,710.44 and 1,714.50 throughout the trading session. The broader market was almost evenly balanced, with decliners leading gainers 548 to 546, while 598 counters were unchanged, 1,107 were untraded and 25 were suspended. Turnover expanded to 4.13 billion units valued at RM3.14 billion from 3.60 billion units valued at RM2.45 billion on Monday.
Q1FY26 Capital Spending Set to Surge 50% as Azure and Copilot Scale
Microsoft is ramping up its investment in artificial intelligence, projecting capital expenditure (CAPEX) of US$30 billion for Q1 FY26, marking a +50% year-on-year increase and surpassing consensus estimates of US$24.23 billion. The move underscores Microsoft’s intent to expand its AI infrastructure, particularly for Azure and Copilot products.
Key Highlights:
AI Adoption Accelerates: Copilot AI has now surpassed 100 million monthly active users (MAUs), a key milestone reflecting broad enterprise uptake.
Azure Sales Remain Strong: The company continues to post solid growth in cloud services, driven by demand for AI-enabled solutions.
Operating Margin Beats: Microsoft projects a 46.6% operating margin for Q1 FY26, ahead of the 45.7% consensus, highlighting continued operational efficiency.
CAPEX Growth Moderating After FY25: While capital spending is set to rise in FY26, growth will likely slow compared to FY25, partly due to ongoing data center infrastructure constraints.
Dividend Update:
Microsoft has declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.83 per share, with a record date of August 21, 2025, and payment date of September 11, 2025. The current dividend yield stands at 0.65%.
Market Snapshot (As of 9 PM MYT):
Dow Jones Futures: 44,400 (+0.37%)
Takeaway:
Microsoft’s record CAPEX guidance highlights its long-term confidence in the AI wave, even as infrastructure limitations may temper near-term growth. Investors will be watching closely for how well Microsoft executes on scaling cloud and AI services into FY26.
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