KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower as sentiment across the region remained tepid on growing fears over the economic impact of the novel Coronavirus, which originated from Wuhan, China.
At lunch break, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,544.93, down by 0.66 point from yesterday’s close of 1,545.59.
After opening 1.34 points weaker at 1,544.25, the local index moved between 1,543.76 and 1,552.46 throughout the morning trading session.
Market breadth was negative with decliners trumping gainers 740 to 146, while 293 counters remained unchanged, 812 untraded and 77 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.02 billion shares worth RM1.22 billion.
On the regional front, Singapore’s Straits Times Index declined 0.18 per cent to 3,165.13, the Jakarta Composite Index fell 1.43 per cent to 5,970.94 and South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index was 0.18 per cent lower at 2,144.06.
In a note, Kenanga Research said investors have increasingly shifted to risk-off mode, reflecting heightened worries over the severity of the outbreak.
It said the FBM KLCI has declined by over four per cent since the outbreak emerged, while the ringgit has depreciated by 0.7 per cent against the US dollar after the first case was detected in Malaysia on Jan 25.
“With eight cases reported (eighth largest globally), we maintain our view that the government may inject a stimulus package of RM5 billion to RM10 billion as early as mid-February to provide immediate relief to the affected sectors, in cognisance of Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s statement on the government’s readiness to act,” it added.
Among the heavyweights on Bursa Malaysia, Maybank eased one sen to RM8.48, Public Bank rose six sen to RM18.96, Tenaga was flat at RM12.48 and Petronas Chemicals was 20 sen lower at RM6.25.
Of the actives, Avillion was 1.5 sen weaker at 14.5 sen, KNM Group decreased 2.5 sen to 27.5 sen and Sapura Energy was flat at 25.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 41.68 points lower at 10,988.28 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 61.99 points to 11,651.02.
The FBMT 100 Index declined 30.87 points to 10,795.91, the FBM 70 lost 147.07 points to 13,750.31 and the FBM Ace erased 158.72 points to 5,462.50.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 2.80 points to 144.42, the Financial Services Index was 14.50 points higher at 14,904.39 and the Plantation Index gained 30.13 points to 7,186.84. — Bernama
