KUALA LUMPUR: The benchmark FBM KLCI ended in the negative territory at midday on Friday, dragged by losses — including at Petronas Chemicals, Axiata Group — as well as mild profit taking activity.
At 12.30 pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI was 3.27 points lower at 1,773.04. The index opened 3.97 points easier at 1,772.34 from yesterday’s close of 1,776.31.
Market breadth was negative, as decliners outstripped gainers 468 to 234 while with 333 counters unchanged. Trading volume stood at 752.09 million shares worth RM618.76mil.
Dealers said the performance of the local bourse tracked a sharp declined on Wall Street overnight as worries grew of over U.S. President Donald Trump’s ability to push through his economic agenda. Similarly, European stocks declined after unexpected decline in inflation, lower oil prices and concerns on UK’s general election next week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 247.14 points to 21,750.73 as the broader stock market faced its biggest selloff since last week’s North Korea-fueled jitters.
PublicInvest Research expects the FBM KLCI to open with a cautious note today after lingering uncertainty over the outlook for US monetary and fiscal policy helped drag Wall Street sharply lower, with the S&P 500 suffering its biggest one-day fall since May, while the euro came under pressure following the release of the minutes of the European Central Bank’s July policy meeting.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Research said the short term momentum for FBM KLCI was still positive, but resistance seen around 1,780.
It said selling pressure could emerge on the local front with the negative overnight performance on Wall Street. The recent upward move on the technology sector may hit a resistance as Nasdaq plunged nearly 2.0% overnight.
“We think traders might want to deploy sell-into-strength strategy as upside of the FBM KLCI’s could be limited around 1,780,” it added.
Petronas Chemicals was one the laggards among the KLCI component stocks. The counter fell 15 sen to RM7.13. Axiata eased three sen to RM4.82 while Genting Bhd
fell six sen to RM9.73.
Among the top gainers at Bursa Malaysia, Nestle added 40 sen to RM84.60, Panasonic Manufacturing gained 30 sen to RM37.30 and Carlsberg rose 22 sen to RM14.92.
The decliners included Sam Engineering, MPI and KESM. Sam Engineering fell 51 sen, or 6.4% to RM7.46, MPI eased 32 sen to RM13.78 and KESM declined 20 sen to RM15.
Elsewhere in the region, Asian shares closed lower with Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.27%, South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.4% while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong eased 0.2% and the CSI300 index fell 0.2%.
Meanwhile, oil prices dipped on Friday as part of a broad-based selloff across markets and despite signs that crude markets are gradually tightening.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude were at US$47.06 a barrel, down three cents. International benchmark Brent crude oil prices were trading at US$50.99 per barrel, down four cents from their previous close.
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
