KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 ― Pressure on Bursa Malaysia’s constituents continued to rise as morning session wrapped with eyes set on the government’s spending and Covid-19 woes.

As at lunch break, the main index FBM KLCI eased by 6.11 points to 1,646.38 compared with Friday’s close of 1,652.49.

At the opening bell, the index down 3.64 points to 1,648.85.

The overall market breadth took a negative turn as losers overtook gainers 656 to 456, while 439 counters were unchanged, 589 untraded and 19 others suspended.

Volume stood at 4.44 billion units worth RM1.90 billion.

Concerns heightened over rising global Covid-19 cases continue to hit the economy, while the government struggles to balance health and economy.

"Lower oil and tax revenue, as well as sovereign ratings downgrade, will put a nail in the economic recovery plan as spending would be affected. If the economy doesn't recover as strongly as the government’s expects, it would lead to a shortfall in revenue which is a huge gamble,” she said.

On the the heavyweights, Hartalega and Top Glove rose by 16 sen and four sen to RM12.52 and RM6.68, respectively, while Tenaga Nasioal shed 14 sen to RM10.64 and Petronas Dagangan declined 24 sen to RM21.00.

Of actives, JAG added 2.5 sen to 27 sen, while Vsolar and Nexgam were both flat at 4.5 sen and 5.0 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 31.90 points lower at 11,858.58, the FBMT 100 Index slipped 33.47 points to 11,653,4, the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 41.31 points to 13,293.16, the FBM 70 dropped 20.75 points to 15,197.85, while the FBM ACE added 13.32 points to 10,460.97.

Meanwhile, the Industrial Products and Services Index dipped 0.55 of-a-point to 175.14, the Plantation Index slid 19.25 points to 7,330.55, and the Financial Services Index eased 22.62 points to 15,402.37. ― Bernama