KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 — Shares on Bursa Malaysia slipped back into the red at the opening today as the country’s political uncertainty drags on, amid reports of a unity government in the works and calls for a snap election following the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan-led government.

As at 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 15.13 points to 1,485.75 from, erasing yesterday’s gains of 10.82 points which saw the market closed at 1,500.88.

The index opened 11.55 points lower at 1,489.33.

On Monday, the main index had lost 2.68 per cent or 41.14 points to close 1490.06 points, marking the weakest performance since December 2011.

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On the broader market, losers trumped gainers 295 to 80 with 154 counters unchanged, 1,472 untraded and 25 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 204.56 million shares worth RM92.10 million.

An analyst said that with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah expected to meet the remaining of the 222 Member of Parliaments today, the decisions to either form a new coalition government or hold a fresh election will be on the table.

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“With several parties retracting their support for the interim Prime Minister yesterday, the possibility for a fresh election is a heated discussion. Hence; with the ongoing political uncertainty, foreign investors have pulled out from the market until a new direction is clear,” she said.

However, the probability of the market dipping more than 30 per cent, triggering a circuit breaker is unlikely as the government holds almost 65 per cent of the local market, as well as the majority shares of the top CI index holders, she said.

She also expected tomorrow’s announcement on the stimulus package to address the Covid-19 impact on the economy will be delayed

“What is important now is the forming of a new ruling government to ensure that investors confidence could be restored,” she said, as the country sort out its political problem.

On the technical side, the index is expected to trend lower today with the psychological support level of 1,470 with the immediate resistance of 1,500.

On heavyweights performance, Maybank shed four sen to RM8.24, Tenaga Nasional slipped 16 sen to RM12.14, Public Bank erased 10 sen to RM17.42, Petronas Chemicals declined 15 sen to RM6.25 and IHH fell five sen to RM5.64.

As for losers, consumer products led the chart with Nestle erasing RM2.00 to RM140.00, F&N shed RM1.28 to RM30.08, while Carlsberg contracted 40 sen to RM36.80 and Ajinamoto slid 22 sen to RM15.24.

For actives, Jag, Advanced Synergy, Avillion and KNM all gained half-a-sen to five sen, 15.5 sen, 16.5 sen and 27 sen.

On the index board, almost all indices opened in the red with FBM Emas Index declined 107.16 points to 10,628.35 points, while the FBMT 100 Index decreased 107.58 points to 10,418.05 and the FBM Ace contracted 29.97 points to 5,665.71.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 131.25 points to 11,295.94 and the FBM 70 drops 144.52 points to 13,415.55.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 2.12 point to 141.34, the Financial Services Index gave up 98.08 points to 14,301.78 and the Plantation Index slipped 113.22 points to 6,826.33. — Bernama