Bursa Malaysia ends lower, CI down 0.75 pct

LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended trading on a weak note yesterday in all index-linked counters, except the real estate investment trusts (REIT) index, and in line with regional peers who were dragged down by the lacklustre overnight performance of US markets, said a dealer.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) further lost 0.75 per cent or 12.31 points to finish at 1,626.76 from Thursday’s close of 1,639.07.

The FBM KLCI, which opened 7.68 points weaker at 1,631.39, moved between 1,623.66 and 1,631.42 throughout the day.

On the broader market, there were 697 losers to 209 gainers, while 341 counters remained unchanged, 650 untraded and 28 others suspended.

Turnover fell to 2.22 billion units worth RM1.76 billion from Thursday’s close of 2.45 billion units worth RM2.02 billion.

Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew told Bernama the sharp overnight drop on Wall Street was a surprise as the US-China trade dispute was thrust back into the spotlight.

“Investors were quick to develop an adverse reaction to US President Donald Trump’s tweet that he would impose an additional 10 per cent tariff on US$300 billion in Chinese imports,” he said.

On Bursa, Pong said Malaysia’s trade data for June, which recorded a decline in exports and imports, also led some investors to move to the sidelines amid an increased weak global sentiment.

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in a statement yesterday said Malaysia’s June trade contracted by six per cent from the same month of 2018 to RM142.08 billion.

It said exports were down by 3.1 per cent to RM76.17 billion, with imports 9.2 per cent lower at RM65.91 billion.

Meanwhile, among heavyweights, Maybank, Public Bank and PChem fell four sen each to RM8.65, RM21.78 and RM7.43 respectively, Tenaga eased 18 sen to RM13.86 and IHH dipped three to RM5.73.

As for the actives, Netx was flat at 1.5 sen, KNM slid one sen to 39.5 sen and Ekovest dropped half-a-sen to 83.5 sen.

The FBM Emas Index shrank 95.28 points to 11,516.79, the FBMT 100 Index narrowed 91.28 points to 11,345.00 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slumped 122.14 points to 11,926.52.

The FBM 70 was down 138.16 points to 14,356.22 and the FBM Ace lost 84.10 points at 4,689.34.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gave up 82.50 points to 15,964.87, the Plantation Index trimmed 33.77 points to 6,689.17 and the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 1.03 points to 154.22.