KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 ― Shares on Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, dominated by political uncertainties over the current Pakatan Harapan-led government, dragging all indices down.

As at 9.47am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 21.70 points to 1,509.50 from Friday’s close of 1,531.20,  after opening 29.73 points lower at 1,501.47 this morning.

Losers led gainers by 767 to 64 on the broader market, with 155 counters unchanged, 1,013 untraded and 21 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 962.20 million shares worth RM734.64 million.

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AxiCorp's chief market strategist Stephen Innes said uncertainties over the local political landscape would weigh heavily on the local market today.

“The sell-through is expected to continue until the dust settles. However, the time frame is unknown and as long as it goes on, there is a high risk of outflow in coming days,” he said. 

Majority of the main counters with government’s holdings traded lower, such as Maybank and Tenaga Nasional which shed eight sen to RM8.33 and RM12.70 respectively, Public Bank declined 26 sen to RM17.88, Hong Leng bank slipped 30 sen to RM15.02 and CIMB group fell nine sen to RM4.91 and Petronas Chemical erased seven sen to RM6.38.

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As for the top losers, consumer products recorded the biggest loss with Dutchlady declining RM1.22, F&N lost 46 sen to RM30.08, Ajinomoto contracted 28 sen to RM15.70, while Heineken dropped RM2.14 to RM28.90. 

As for actives, MyE.G continued its downtrend losing two sen to RM1.28, Alam Maritim, Sapura Energy and Powerwell all slipped five sen to 13.5 sen, 23 sen and 37 sen respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slipped 182.15 points to 10,783.46, the FBMT 100 Index declined 174.51 points to 10,572.60 and FBM Ace shed 71.99 points to 5,674.93.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 198.97 points to 11,458.28 and FBM 70 dipped 316.39 points to 13,565.40.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.96 points to 143.83,  the Financial Services Index shed 184.97 points to 14,510.95 and the Plantation Index weakened 200.73 points to 6,933.92. ― Bernama