KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed marginally lower today as investors turned cautious ahead of a busy week featuring the Federal Reserve's policy meeting and earnings releases from major US technology companies.IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Sedek Jantan said trading activity was subdued as market participants awaited greater clarity on the Fed’s interest rate outlook and whether second quarter earnings from the technology sector can sustain the global artificial intelligence (AI)-driven rally.Among companies in the tech sector are Meta Platforms Inc, Microsoft Corporation, Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc.“Despite Brent crude oil prices falling more than 2%, reflecting easing geopolitical concerns and improved supply expectations, it failed to lift market sentiment as investors preferred to remain on the sidelines,” he told Bernama.Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said there was subdued buying interest today in line with weaker regional markets as investors reassessed the outlook for AI investments.“Concerns intensified after reports that Nvidia's AI financing commitments had reportedly exceeded US$750 billion, raising questions whether AI demand can keep pace with the industry's aggressive spending plans.“The news triggered a broad sell-off in global semiconductor stocks, weighing on overall market sentiment across the region,” he said.At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 0.61 of-a-point or 0.04% to 1,712.48 from yesterday’s close of 1,713.09.The benchmark index, which opened 1.14 points weaker at 1,711.95, moved between 1,703.83 and 1,715.02 during the day’s trading.In the broader market, decliners outstripped gainers 717 to 348, while 536 counters were unchanged, 1,179 untraded and 36 suspended.Turnover rose to 2.94 billion units valued at RM2.56 billion from 2.86 billion units valued at RM2.24 billion yesterday.Among the heavyweights, CIMB fell four sen to RM7.76, while Public Bank rose one sen to RM5.19, Tenaga Nasional gained 20 sen to RM14.66, and Maybank as well as IHH Healthcare remained flat at RM10.90 and RM8.34, respectively.As for the active stocks, VS Industry slipped one sen to 22 sen, SNS Network Technology and Dagang Nexchange lost two sen each to 54 sen and 43 sen respectively, Tanco added 1.5 sen to 26 sen, and Zentrix AI inched up 0.5 sen…
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