KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended lower on the final trading day of the week, weighed down by the plantation sector as investors locked in gains following its recent strong performance. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 7.03 points 1,708.10, compared with yesterday’s close of 1,715.13. The benchmark index opened 1.39 points lower at 1,713.74 and fluctuated between 1,704.86 and 1,715.20 throughout the day. The broader market was negative with losers outnumbering gainers 568 to 523, while 596 counters were unchanged, 1,085 untraded and 19 suspended. Turnover expanded to 4.33 billion units valued at RM2.98 billion from 3.90 billion units valued at RM3.21 billion on Thursday.
Singapore’s manufacturing sector showed mixed performance in February, with headline output edging down 0.1% year-on-year , weighed by a sharp contraction in the biomedical cluster . Biomedical Decline Masks Underlying Strength Data from Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) revealed that biomedical output plunged 27.3% YoY , significantly dragging overall manufacturing performance. However, excluding this volatile segment, manufacturing output actually grew 3.9% , indicating underlying resilience in core industrial activity . Electronics Sector Provides Support The electronics cluster recorded growth , offering a key pillar of support amid broader weakness. In contrast, most other major clusters reported declines in output , suggesting uneven recovery across the sector. Monthly Contraction Signals Near-Term Weakness On a month-on-month basis, the data points to short-term softness : Overall output fell 7.2% (seasonally adjusted) Ex...