KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — Bursa Malaysia finished lower as a hefty decline in oil prices continued to dampen investor sentiment on the back of persistent worries of a glut, a dealer said.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,648.50, down 11.73 points, after fluctuating between 1,648.45 and 1,659.55 throughout the day.          

The barometer index opened 2.79 points lower at 1,657.44, after closing at 1,660.23 yesterday.

Decliners trounced gainers 416 to 398 while 332 counters were unchanged, 533 untraded and 19 others suspended.

Volume increased to 2.09 billion units worth RM1.60 billion from 1.92 billion units worth RM1.84 billion yesterday.

Oil prices remained weak with US crude below US$40 (RM162) per barrel and Brent under US$42 per barrel.

The dealer said rising concerns over the oversupply of crude, prices of which have declined by more than 20 per cent since their peak back in June, have weighed on the regional and global equity markets.

Kenanga Research also said in a note that the weakening crude oil price has led to a domino effect as it dragged down the ringgit against major global currencies, further dampening domestic sentiment.

“The market is generally still weak and lacking of catalyst that could support the overall market,” it said.

Of the heavyweights, TNB contracted four sen to RM14.36, Maybank slid 12 sen to RM7.86, Public Bank declined 22 sen to RM19.58, IHH Healthcare eased one sen to RM6.53, Petronas Chemicals shed five sen to RM6.54, Axiata lost four sen to RM5.65 and Sime Darby erased nine sen to RM7.51.

Among losers, BAT fell RM1.06 to RM49.50, United Plantations decreased 42 sen to RM26.58 and PPB dimimished 24 sen to RM15.82, while F&N and Batu were 24 sen lower at RM26.10 and RM17.76, respectively.

On the scoreboard, the FBM Emas Index shrank 58.51 points to 11,571.88 and the FBMT100 Index contracted 59.98 points to 11,273.43.

However, the FBM 70 garnered 3.10 points to 13,275.61.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index pruned 21.83 points to 12,201.55 and the FBM Ace dropped 18.83 points to 5,373.43.

Sector-wise, the Finance Index dipped 165.18 points to 14,070.82, the Industrial Index narrowed 13.96 points to 3,098.02, and the Plantation Index fell 8.48 points to 7,578.44.

Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia announced that Maxwell International Holdings Bhd has triggered the criteria pursuant to Practice Note 17 of the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Securities.

Main Market turnover rose to 1.40 billion shares worth RM1.49 billion from 1.26 billion shares valued at RM1.75 billion recorded yesterday.

The ACE Market volume reduced to 311.77 million units worth RM50.53 million from yesterday’s 324.12 million units valued at RM57.73 million.                          

Warrants advanced to 378.81 million shares worth RM57.43 million from 334.88 million shares worth RM36.80 million yesterday.

Consumer products accounted for 109.02 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products (264.23 million), construction (38.71 million), trade and services (528.22 million), technology (224.34 million), infrastructure (11.20 million), SPAC (14.35 million), finance (102.13 million), hotels (366,000), properties (62.26 million), plantations (30.42 million), mining (13,000), REITs (14.07 million) and closed/fund (179,900). — Bernama