KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia's relief rebound fizzled out on Thursday after China and Hong Kong markets fell on resurging worries of a US-China trade war.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI was up 0.34 points or 0.02% to 1,862.27. It started the day on a strong note, rising to a high of 1,863 before falling in the afternoon session to 1,846 before some late fund buying set in.
Turnover was 2.05 billion shares valued at RM2.13bil. The broader market was firmer with 442 gainers, 349 losers and 449 counters unchanged.
The ringgit lost ground against the US dollar and Singapore unit. It slipped 0.16% to the US dollar to 3.9177 and shed 0.09% against the Singapore dollar to 2.9517. However, it rose 0.14% to the pound sterling at 5.4516 and edged up 0.09% to the euro at 4.7689.
Hong Kong shares fell on Thursday as Chinese technology companies listed in the city tumbled after a US probe of Huawei deepened fears that the sector could suffer from rising trade tensions between Beijing and Washington, Reuters reported.
The Hang Seng index fell 1.1% to 30,007.68, while the China Enterprises Index lost 1.2%, to 11,949.38.
The blue-chip CSI300 index closed down 1.9% at 3,755.49, its worst day in a month, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.4% to 3,075.03.
However, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.47%, South Korea's Kospi added 1.1% but Taiwan's Taiex fell 0.68%.
At Bursa, consumer stocks were mixed with Dutch Lady
up 58 sen to RM67.98, F&N 28 sen to RM35.46 and Ajinomoto 22 sen up to RM22.10 but Nestle fell RM2.60 to RM136.50 and Heineken 18 sen lower at RM20.44.
Glove makers were higher with the world's largest manufacturer Top Glove up 41 sen to RM9.42 while Hartalega added 17 sen to RM5.86.
Among the banks, Alliance Bank rose 13 sen to RM4.32, Maybank added 10 sen to RM10.68 and pushed the KLCI up 1.96 points, RHB Bank and Hong Leong Bank added four sen each to RM5.31 and RM18.88, CIMB three sen to RM7.20 but Public Bank lost 12 sen to RM23.72.
As for telcos, Digi rose eight sen to RM4.57 and added 1.11 points to the KLCI, Telekom lost three sen to RM5.20, Maxis two sen to RM5.80 and Axiata skidded 14 sen to RM5.16, wiping out 2.27 points from the KLCI.
US light crude oil climbed 45 cents to US$68.50 and Brent gained 66 cents to US$74.66. Petronas Gas rose six sen to RM18, Petronas Chemical two sen higher at RM8.41 but Petronas Dagangan lost four sen to RM26.96.
Crude palm oil for third month delivery fell RM3 to RM2,394 per tonne. IOI Corp, PPB Group and KL Kepong inched up two sen each to RM4.77, RM19.20 and RM25.50 respectively.
Sime Plantation rose six sen to RM5.56, Sime Property four sen higher at RM1.43 but Sime Dary fell two sen to RM2.55.
Glove makers advanced, with Top Glove up 41 sen to RM9.42, Hartalega 17 sen higher at RM5.86 while Kossan lost 10 sen to RM6.45.
As for semicon stocks, Unisem was flat at RM1.82 after the battering the previous day following its weaker results. Globetronic four sen lower to RM3.93 , Kesm two sen to RM15.74 and Inari fell one sen to RM1.77 but MPI added five sen to RM7.76.
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