KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — Bursa Malaysia succumbed to a new four-year low at mid-day today against the backdrop of the US-China trade dispute, said a dealer.
At 12.30 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) trimmed 8.55 points to 1,550.24 from 1,558.79 at yesterday’s closing.
The benchmark index opened 4.06 points weaker at 1,554.73 and moved between 1,550.16 and 1,555.11 throughout the morning session.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 460 to 242, while 764 counters were unchanged, 545 untraded and 29 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 1.06 billion shares worth RM690.94 million.
The FBM KLCI’s new four-year low at noon today, superseded last week’s four-year low of 1,551.96, with the lowest level previously recorded on Aug 24, 2015 at 1,532.00.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd Analyst, Kenneth Leong told Bernama the key index suffered a whiplash from the US-China trade dispute as it affected traders’ demand.
“The US-China trade negotiations was more of the catalyst compared to pre-Budget 2020 jitters,” he said, adding, the Budget 2020 slated for tabling on Friday had a mere indirect impact.
“The Budget 2020 is anticipated to not be well received compared to previous years, as the government is on a relatively tighter rein,” he said.
Among heavyweights, Maybank, IHH and Axiata decreased four sen each to RM8.41, RM5.63 and RM4.22 respectively, while Tenaga declined 16 sen to RM13.54 and PBBank eased two sen to RM19.28.
Of the most actives, Bumi Armada and KNM Group improved 1.5 sen each to 36.5 sen and 38.5 sen respectively, while Ekovest rose two sen to 81.5 sen and Sumatec added half-a-sen to 1.5 sen.
The FBM Emas Index declined 60.54 points to 11,013.71, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 60.52 points to 10,836.13 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index trimmed 74.16 points to 11,597.38.
The FBM 70 depreciated 80.34 points to 13,814.21 and the FBM Ace declined 39.11 points to 4,575.82.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index dropped 43.51 points to 14,989.13, the Plantation Index lost 23.9 points to 6,545.68 and the Industrial Products & Services Index was 0.96 of a point weaker at 149.15. — Bernama
