Bursa M’sia ends lower as markets spooked by new variant

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended broadly lower on Friday in line with regional markets amid weak sentiment following the emergence of a new Covid-19 variant in South Africa as well as recent surge in new infections in Europe which dampen investor sentiment.

At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 5.38 points or 0.36 per cent to finish at 1,512.22 from 1,517.60 Thursday.

The index opened 0.57 of-apoint higher at 1,518.17 and moved between 1,508.97 and 1,518.44 throughout the day.

On the broader market, decliners thumped gainers 993 to 195, while 303 counters were unchanged, 821 untraded, and 39 others suspended.

Turnover jumped to 4.90 billion units worth RM3.48 billion from Thursday’s 3.81 billion units worth RM2.42 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vicepresident of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI has broken the 1,520 support level and may test the 1,500 psychological level in the near term.

“We believe the benchmark index will see some downside though bargain-hunting activities may emerge as well,” he told Bernama.

Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 2.53 per cent to 28,751.62, Singapore’s Straits Times Index dipped 1.72 per cent to 3,166.27, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index went down 2.67 per cent to 24,080.52.

On Bursa Malaysia, heavyweights Petronas Gas advanced six sen to RM16.36, TNB was flat at RM9.38, Maybank and Petronas Chemicals eased one sen each to RM8.10 and RM8.43, respectively, while Public Bank slipped one sen to RM4 and IHH Healthcare slumped 11 sen to RM6.56.

Of the actives, Careplus soared 25 sen to RM1.22, Top Glove surged 39 sen to RM2.64, Vsolar and Borneo Oil were flat at 1.5 sen and 2.5 sen, respectively, while Dagang NeXchange trimmed four sen to 81.5 sen, and Sapura Energy eased half-a-sen to nine sen.

On the index board, the FBM 70 dipped 180.86 points to 14,454.61, the FBMT 100 Index shed 62.72 points to 10,762.65, the FBM Emas Index gave up 80.44 points to 11,079.13, the FBM Emas Shariah index slipped 67.07 points to 12,040.74, and the FBM ACE lost 188.90 points to 6,463.31.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 3.18 points to 196.21, the Financial Services Index was 85.85 points lower at 15,143.67, and the Plantation Index fell 114.14 points to 6,465.04.

Meanwhile, ATA IMS Bhd’s shares extended their losses to hit limit down today, plunging 30 sen or 36.59 per cent to 52 sen, as UK high-tech home appliance designer and manufacturer Dyson Ltd had cut ties with the electronics manufacturing firm over alleged labour practices.