KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 ― Bursa Malaysia remained lower at mid-afternoon today, with the benchmark index dipping 1.36 per cent, in line with the decline in regional peers.
At 3.15pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 21.33 points to 1,551.48 from Friday's close of 1,572.63, after opening 14.24 points weaker at 1,558.57 this morning.
Market breadth was negative with losers overwhelming gainers 831 to 158, while 194 counters remained unchanged, 794 untraded and 21 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.47 billion shares worth RM1.90 billion.
On the regional front, the Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 69.89 points to 3,170.13, Jakarta Composite Index dropped 26 points to 6,106.59 and South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index was 69.41 points lower at 2,176.72.
In a note, Rakuten Trade said it was not an auspicious start for the regional stock markets today as the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in Wuhan had investors scurrying for cover as many unloaded their positions, pushing down the overnight Dow Jones Index by 453 points.
It said crude oil prices also retreated on the potential negative impact of the virus outbreak on demand, with Brent going below the US$60 level to close at US$58.58 per barrel.
“Looking at a plethora of adverse developments, we believe trading on the local bourse to be muted with the FBM KLCI facing some downward pressure with support seen at 1,560 today,” it added.
Among the heavyweights on Bursa Malaysia, Maybank lost six sen to RM8.47, Public Bank was 26 sen lower at RM18.92 and Tenaga decreased 14 sen to RM12.74.
While most heavyweights were in the red, healthcare stocks bucked the trend, with Hartalega rising 29 sen to RM6.32 while Top Glove improved 45 sen to RM5.99 and IHH was 10 sen higher at RM5.89.
Of the actives, Priceworth eased half-a-sen to 2.5 sen, Careplus gained 14 sen to 37.5 sen and Supermax added 23 sen to RM1.84.
On the scoreboard, the FBM Emas Index went down 177.01 points to 11,069.65 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 173.25 points to 11,794.89.
The FBMT 100 Index fell 169.71 points to 10,862.62, the FBM 70 gave up 301.03 points to 13,921.20 and the FBM Ace was 115.92 points lower at 5,564.48.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 4.09 points to 147.86, the Financial Services Index fell 199.73 points to 14,903.34 and the Plantation Index was 209.25 points weaker at 7,215.50. ― Bernama
