KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower in line with its regional peers at the opening today, following the overnight losses on Wall Street, which posted its biggest one-day declines in nearly three months.
The Nasdaq Composite tumbled nearly 4.96 per cent to 11,458.10, the Dow erased 2.78 per cent to 28,292.73 and the S&P declined 3.51 per cent to 3,455.06.
At 9.09 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 12.80 points to 1,502.60 from yesterday’s close of 1,515.40.
The barometer index opened 10.78 points lower at 1,504.62.
On the overall market, losers trounced gainers 700 to 52, while 198 counters were unchanged, 1,076 untraded and 37 others suspended.
Trading volume stood at 735.87 million shares worth RM327.99 million.
“It was the worst day for stocks since June and Wall Street was in a bloodbath yesterday as investors dramatically sold their shares even though there was no clear reason why they did that.
“But technically, it could also be due to the US-China trade war which turned sour and that’s why investors opted to move out their investments,” he said.
It was reported that products exported from China to the US, including disposable face masks, respirators and Bluetooth tracking devices, have been granted only a short-term exemption without any explanation.
Meanwhile, local brokerage firm Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said it appears that the downside momentum may linger given that the FBM KLCI failed to build onto its previous session gains.
“We opine that the renewed volatility across global equities may send the local bourse to end the week on a soft footing.
“Meanwhile, the lower liners could also be due for a pullback, premised on their toppish valuations,” it said, adding that the telecommunications and media sector, which is relatively resilient in nature, could outperform the negative broader market.
The firm said the higher crude palm oil prices that traded above RM2,800 per tonne may spur some trading interest within the plantation sector.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank declined four sen to RM7.17, Top Glove erased 14 sen to RM8.23, Public Bank dropped 18 sen to RM15.92 while Hartalega was 44 sen weaker at RM13.42.
Among the actives, XOX shed half-a-sen to 22.5 sen, Fintec lost one sen to 15 sen and Netx was flat at 1.5 sen.
Of the top gainers, Kamdar rose 25 sen to 47 sen, Amway increased six sen to RM4.95 and telco-related counter Maxis was four sen higher at RM5.08.
Of the top losers, Supermx-C90 lost 75 sen to RM4.00, Supermax declined 51 sen to RM9.63 and Malaysian Pacific Industries was 48 sen lower at RM18.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 116.01 points to 110,896.23, the FBMT 100 Index depreciated 112.91 points to 10,695.43 and the FBM 70 contracted 236.46 points to 14,372.09.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index reduced 149.29 points to 12,910.20, while the FBM ACE lost 230.18 points to 10,620.51.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index weakened 101.67 points to 12,545.99, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 2,14 points to 135.36 and the Plantation Index fell 18.97 points to 7,108.89. — Bernama
