KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended at its intraday low on Thursday as investor sentiment remained cautious amid ongoing foreign outflows, although the recent weakness may present bargain-hunting opportunities in fundamentally sound blue-chip counters. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 9.33 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 1,708.36, from yesterday’s close of 1,717.69. The benchmark index, which opened 3.74 points higher at 1,721.43, hit an intraday high of 1,722.50 in early trade before losing momentum for the rest of the day. Market breadth was negative, with losers outpacing gainers 656 to 508, while 565 counters were unchanged, 989 untraded and 32 suspended. Turnover fell to 3.49 billion units worth RM3.70 billion compared with 4.15 billion units worth RM4.29 billion on Wednesday.
Market Snapshot Indonesia’s sovereign credit outlook has come under pressure after Fitch Ratings revised the country’s outlook to “negative” from “stable” , citing rising policy uncertainty and weakening confidence in the government’s economic framework . Despite the outlook downgrade, Fitch maintained Indonesia’s credit rating at the second-lowest investment grade level , meaning the country remains investment grade for now. However, a negative outlook signals that a future downgrade is possible if fiscal and policy risks intensify. The move follows a similar action by Moody’s , which also revised Indonesia’s outlook downward earlier this year. Together, the decisions have raised fresh concerns among global investors about the policy direction of Southeast Asia’s largest economy . What’s Driving the Outlook Downgrade 1. Rising Policy Uncertainty Fitch highlighted increasing centralisation of policymaking authority as a key factor be...