KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 — Share prices on Bursa Malaysia extended its downtrend to open lower this morning on weak global market sentiment and the dismal overnight performance of Wall Street.
At 9.11am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was down 12.50 points to 1,626.57 from yesterday’s close of 1,639.07.
The FBM KLCI opened 7.68 points weaker at 1,631.39.
There were 325 losers and 46 gainers, while 180 counters were unchanged, 1,346 untraded and 28 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 193.24 million units worth RM85.01 million.
A tweet by US President Donald Trump that he would impose an additional 10 per cent tariff on US$300 billion (RM1.24 trillion) in Chinese imports abruptly reversed early gains made by Wall Street and putting back concerns about a full-blown US-Sino trade war.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said although there were prospects for recovery from oversold, the continuing weakness on Wall Street may keep the recovery in check over the near term.
“As it is, global markets are rocked again by the US’ move to impose new tariffs on China goods, that is unlikely to leave the local market unscathed.
“This is set to dampen sentiments again at the end of the week, albeit we think that the downside bias could be limited as the FBM KLCI is already oversold and may provide some cushion to the potential downside,” it said in a note today.
Back home, the stockbroking firm said there remain few noteworthy leads for market players to follow which could keep market players on the sideline.
“On the downside, supports are at the 1,635 and 1,626 levels. The resistances, meanwhile, are at 1,650 and 1,660 respectively.
“We also think that the rebound in the lower liners and broader market shares could stall as market sentiments turn warier with the fresh tariff threats. Therefore, we see the FBM Small Cap index returning to the dour side to end the week,” it added.
Among top losers, Nestle fell 80 sen to RM147.90, HLFG eased 32 sen to RM17.62, PPB dropped 30 sen to RM18.42 and Tenaga shed 28 sen to RM13.76.
Heavyweights counter Maybank was flat at RM8.69, PBBank declined 10 sen to RM21.72 and PChem was one sen lower to RM7.46.
Most active stocks, Bumi Armada and Sapura Energy each lost half-a-sen to 22.5 sen and 29 sen, while VSolar slipped one sen to 17 sen.
On the scoreboard, the FBM Emas Index fell 86.66 points to 11,528.41, the FBM Ace shed 30.03 points to 4,743.38, the FBM 70 edged down 104.47 points to 14,389.91, the FBMT 100 Index contracted 86.07 points to 11,350.21, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 110.83 points to 11,937.83.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index decreased 53.82 points to 6,669.12, the Financial Services Index gave up 64.98 points for 15,982.39 and the Industrial Products & Services Index declined 0.60 of-a-point to 154.65. — Bernama
