KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — Bursa Malaysia kept on trading sideways today as global uncertainty continued to weigh down Petronas-linked counters, which contributed to the decline of the composite index.
At the closing bell, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 4.19 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 1,591.46 compared with yesterday’s close of 1,595.65.
On the broader market, gainers were slightly ahead of losers 401 to 398, while 421 counters were unchanged, 725 were untraded and 16 were suspended.
Volume declined to 2.74 billion shares worth RM1.59 billion from 2.83 billion shares worth RM1.89 billion yesterday.
An analyst said as long as tensions in the Middle East remained high, companies with presence in the oil-rich region would continue to be under pressure.
“It is difficult to determine when it will return to calm waters, and as long as the tension remains high, the index will continue to be influenced in every way due to our position as an open and emerging market,” she said.
However, she said, the index was unlikely to experience a tumble as foreign equity holdings in the market amounted to not more than 35 per cent.
Throughout the trading day, Petronas-related counters were consistently in the red over concerns on its operations in Iraq following heightened tension in the country after Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at US military bases there.
The missile strikes at bases in Anbar and Irbil, Iraq, came amid soaring tension in the region, triggered by a deadly US drone strike on Iran’s top military commander, General Qassem Soleimani, last Friday.
At present, there are 163 Malaysian citizens in Iraq, made up mostly of Petronas staff as well as lecturers while 73 people have registered with Malawakil (Office of the Malaysian Delegation) in Tehran.
Wisma Putra has issued a travel advisory advising Malaysians in Iran and Iraq as well as others who are planning to travel the oil-rich countries to take safety precautions.
Petronas Gas slid 16 sen to RM16.84, Petronas Chemicals declined seven sen to RM7.24, while Petronas Dagangan slipped 28 sen to RM22.48.
Of the other heavyweights, Axiata was down eight sen at RM4.17 and Digi decreased four sen to RM4.54.
Of the actives, DGB and Sapura Energy was one sen higher each at 15 sen and 29 sen respectively, and Mudajaya rose five sen to 44.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific added 42 sen to RM12.20, KESM jumped 48 sen RM9.84 and Nestle gained 50 sen to RM145.40.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index went down 17.38 points to 11,344.53 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 21.48 points lower at 11,967.68.
The FBMT 100 Index lost 18.76 points to 11,138.94, the FBM 70 advanced 19.09 points to 14,260.46 and the FBM ACE dipped 19.97 points to 5,480.70.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.29 point to 153.57, while the Financial Services Index contracted 10.28 points to 15,549.56 and the Plantation Index added 6.71 points to 7,693.00.
Main Market volume increased to 2.74 billion shares worth RM1.59 billion compared with 1.88 billion shares worth RM1.63 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover slipped to 193.45 million units worth RM32.22 million from yesterday’s 232.53 million units valued at RM38.41 million.
Volume on the ACE Market grew to 770.59 million shares worth RM183.69 from yesterday’s 718.96 million shares worth RM218.81 million.
Consumer products and services accounted for 393.99 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (290.85 million), construction (141.58 million), technology (156.64 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (36.37 million), property (117.00 million), plantations (107.16 million), REITs (10.92 million), closed/fund (nil), energy (367.91 million), healthcare (15.95 million), telecommunications and media (28.40 million), transportation and logistics (46.29 million) and utilities (63.18 million). — Bernama
