Bursa Malaysia ends lower as risk sentiment wanes

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended the last trading day of the week in negative territory as sentiment took a hit due to fresh US-China trade tensions while investors assessed US Presidentelect Joe Biden’s massive Covid-19 aid plan.

At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 8.70 points to 1,627.01 from 1,635.71 at yesterday’s close.

The index opened 1.56 points higher at 1,637.27 and moved between 1,626.25 and 1,637.88 throughout the session.

On the broader market, losers led gainers 571 to 512, while 480 counters were unchanged, 545 untraded and 24 others suspended.

Total volume was lower at 5.85 billion units worth RM4.06 billion from 6.49 billion units worth RM4.87 billion on Thursday.

Late Thursday, Biden announced a US$1.9 trillion pandemic support proposal in a bid to stem Covid-19 uptick and stabilise the US economy, but concerns arose on whether he would get support for the enormous spending.

Fresh concerns about rising US-China trade tension also ra led investor sentiment. It was reported that the outgoing President Donald Trump administration has blacklisted Xiaomi and a few other companies. The US Department of Defence on Thursday added Xiaomi to its list of companies with alleged links to the Chinese military.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said the losses seen on the local bourse was in conformity with regional peers.

“The market was mainly dragged by banking stocks such as Maybank, CIMB and Public Bank amid some profit-taking.

“On the contrary, rubber glove counters, namely Top Glove and Supermax rebounded by at least 0.5 per cent. On a sectoral basis the Bursa Malaysia Energy Index was the biggest loser with a 1.3 per cent decline as Brent crude oil price retreated,” he told Bernama.

At the time of writing, Brent crude dipped below US$56 per barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate was at US$53 per barrel.

Back home, heavyweights, Public Bank and Maybank eased 30 sen and 10 sen to RM21.20 and RM8.25 respectively.

IHH dropped 13 sen to RM5.42, while Sime Darby Plantation was 14 sen lower at RM5.06 and Axiata declined five sen to RM3.65.

In contrast, TM gained 19 sen to RM5.74 and Hong Leong Bank rose 20 sen to RM17.80.

Of the actives, PRG added 5.5 sen to 28.5 sen, PNEPCB slid eight sen to 42 sen, XOX eased half-a-sen to 10.5 sen, and AT Systematization was up one sen at 18.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 43.08 points to 11,706.74, the FBMT 100 Index fell 48.08 points to 11,440.53, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 10.88 points to 13,204.69.