KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — Bursa Malaysia extended its earlier losses at mid-afternoon as all index remained negative, dipping below the 1,590 mark due to the rising tension in the Middle East.
The market was affected by the announcement by Iran’s state television that 80 American casualties were recorded after 15 missiles were launched on United States (US) targets in Iraq.
At 3.05pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,559.54, slipping 21.50 points from yesterday’s close of 1,611.04.
The market barometer opened 6.98 points lower at 1,604.06 this morning.
Market breadth remained negative as losers outpaced gainers 862 to 121, while 262 counters remained unchanged, 692 untraded and 13 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.84 billion shares worth RM1.31 billion.
Earlier today, Pentagon was reported as saying that Iran had launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles aimed at two Iraqi bases that held US troops in what appears to be a retaliatory act for the American drone attack that killed a top Iranian commander, General Qassem Soleimani last week.
The missiles attack, allegedly launched from within Iran’s territory, was carried out hours after Qassem’s funeral.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank contracted 10 sen to RM8.55, IHH declined six sen to RM5.54, CIMB Group was 13 sen down to RM5.16 while Hong Leong Financial slipped 36 sen to RM17.08.
Energy-related counters dominated the active index, led by Sapura Energy which inched up half-a-sen to 28.5 sen, while Hibiscus and its warrant rose three sen and 1.5 sen to RM1.03 and 29 sen, resprectively.
As for top losers, Axiara was down 17 sen to RM4.19, while UWC, Thing Guan, Malaysian Pacific all shed 16 sen to RM3.02, RM3.21, and RM11.74 respectively.
The FBM Emas Index decreased 154.61 points to 11,303.30, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 154.52 points lower at 11,933.52.
The FBMT 100 Index weakened 143.55 points to 11,108.77, the FBM 70 slid 155.31 points to 14,153.44, while the FBM Ace contracted 183.19 points to 5,241.25.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 2.26 point to 154.14, the Financial Services Index dipped 219.57 points to 15,493.84 and the Plantation Index weakened 115.48 points to 7,642.05. — Bernama
