Bursa Malaysia ends easier

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended in negative territory yesterday, weighed down by a broad market selldown against a backdrop of weaker regional markets, said a dealer.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 1.40 points or 0.08 per cent to end at 1,775.75 versus Friday’s close of 1,777.15.

The index moved between 1,769.72 and 1,778.19 during the day. It opened 3.64 points easier at 1,773.51.

On the scoreboard, market breadth was negative with losers trouncing gainers by 745 to 195, while 323 counters were unchanged, 611 untraded and 17 others suspended.

Volume stood at 2.37 billion units valued at RM1.82 billion versus 2.06 billion units worth RM1.89 billion recorded last Friday.

Regionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 1.39 per cent at 26,202.57, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.8 per cent to 23,783.72 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index slipped 0.86 per cent to 3,182.27.

The weakness in regional markets was in line with the easier Chinese market which opened after a week-long holiday as well as the move by China’s central bank to cut the reserve requirement ratio for banks on concerns over the economic impact of its ongoing trade war with the US, said a dealer.

Leading Bursa Malaysia’s decliners was Gamuda, following news reports the Federal government will re-tender all the unfinished underground work of the Mass Rapid Transit Line 2 project. It slumped 78 sen to RM2.43 with 92.70 million shares changing hands.

Fraser & Neave shed 68 sen to RM37, Dutch Lady trimmed 66 sen to RM64.34 and Ajinomoto fell 42 sen to RM21.54.

Of the heavyweights, Maxis added one sen to RM5.70, IHH Healthcare declined 20 sen to RM5.30, Public Bank and CIMB were flat at RM24.98 and RM6.04, respectively, while Maybank eased one sen to RM9.65 and TNB dropped six sen to RM15.38.

For actives, Vortex Consolidated rose one sen to nine sen, Sapura Energy decreased two sen to 37 sen, MYEG and Hibiscus Petroleum trimmed six sen each to RM1.55 and RM1.20, respectively, while Reach Energy went down five sen to 42.5 sen.

The FBM Emas Index reduced 95.55 points to 12,312.08, the FBM Emas Shariah Index weakened 139.48 points to 12,372.34 and the FBMT 100 Index decreased 87.57 points to 12,127.06.

The FBM Ace Index declined 63.59 points to 5,166.47 while the FBM 70 lost 406.32 points to 14,272.8.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index increased 11.14 points to 7,493.57, the Financial Services Index slipped 33.52 points to 17,678.6, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 1.95 points to 175.05.

Main Market volume rose to 1.50 billion shares worth RM1.67 billion versus 1.39 billion shares valued at RM1.74 billion last Friday.

Warrants’ turnover increased to 497.63 million units valued at RM88.01 million against 428.84 million units worth RM94.50 million last week.

Volume on the ACE Market expanded to 371.96 million units worth RM64.59 against 239.36 million units valued at RM50.56 million previously.

Consumer products and services accounted for 206.96 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (299.996 million), construction (194.71 million), technology (162.14 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (41.81 million), property (110.70 million), plantations (100.53 million), REITs (4.41 million), closed/fund (32,000), energy (343.76 million), healthcare (26.84 million), telecommunication and media (17.54 million), transportation and logistics (53.12 million), and utilities (275.91 million).

For further information on stocks and prices, please visit www.bursamalaysia.com.