KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — Shares on Bursa Malaysia maintained lower at midday, as investors’ worries over the worsening US-China trade war and the fear that negotiations between the two giant economies may not conclude anytime soon.
At lunch break, the key FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) erased 4.08 points to 1,682.87 from yesterday’s close of 1,686.95, after opening 0.82 points lower at 1,686.13.
The index moved between 1,681.62 and 1,688.28 throughout the morning session.
Market breadth was negative as losers led gainers 429 to 258, while 345 counters were unchanged, 870 untraded and 20 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 1.39 billion shares worth RM958.62 billion.
A dealer said stocks on the local bourse and its Asian peers were on selling mode in line with the US stock market.
“This was after the US stock market stumbled following European Central Bank’s (ECB) move to cut its economic projections. And at the same time, the escalating trade war between the US and China is not in concluding any time soon,” he said.
US President Donald Trump, he said, expected to strike a trade deal with China to boost the stock market but the positive outlook was somewhat soured, when Chinese technology company, Huawei announced it will sue Washington for barring US government agencies from buying its equipment and services.
“This will worsen trade tensions between the two government and impacting the equity markets globally”.
As for other heavyweights, Maybank flat at RM9.53, Public Bank fell two sen to RM24.52, Tenaga down by six sen to RM12.76 while Petronas Chemicals was eight sen higher at RM9.26.
Among actives, Prestariang increased 1.5 sen to 55.5 sen, Dayang Enterprise added 15 sen to RM1.55, KNM inched up one sen to 11 sen but My EG lost two sen to RM1.21.
The FBM Emas Index decreased 20.43 points to 11,762.19, the FBMT 100 Index dropped 22 points to 11,614.68 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index depreciated 31.90 points to 11,758.12.
The FBM 70 Index eased 1.69 points to 14,206.60, but the FBM Ace Index was 55.85 points higher at 4,718.57.
Sectorwise, the Financial Services Index fell 5.75 points to 17,513.05, the Plantations Index lost 2.54 points to 7,290.21, while the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 1.37 points to 169.47. — Bernama
