KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips fell early Friday, with Petronas Gas and Tenaga Nasional among the biggest drags on the FBM KLCI as investor sentiment was hit by the slide on Wall Street.
At 9.22am, the KLCI was down 14.13 points or 0.81% to 1,723.88. Turnover was 214.99 million shares valued at RM99.52mil. There were 75 gainers, 309 losers and 167 counters unchanged.
Stocks in Asia fell as global sentiment soured on issues ranging from trade worries, Italy's 2019 budget, higher US interest rates and growth concerns in China that led to a slump in Chinese shares in the previous session, Reuters reported.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.27%, the S&P 500 lost 1.44% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.06%.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.4% weaker following losses on Wall Street overnight. Australian shares were down 0.6%, while Japan's Nikkei stock index slid 1.7%.
At Bursa, Petronas Gas fell 28 sen to RM18.18 and Tenaga 12 sen to RM14.46.
As for consumer stocks, Nestle lost 90 sen to RM144.10, BAT 34 sen to RM33.26 and Apollo 12 sen to RM4.01. However, Heineken rebounded 24 sen to RM18.44.
Among plantations, PPB Group was down 24 sen to RM16.64 and KL Kepong 18 sen lower at RM24.80. Hap Seng Plantations inched up four sen to RM2.04.
KESM lost 46 sen to RM12 on profit taking after the recent rebound in the burn-in chip tester.
Win a prize this Mother's Day by subscribing to our annual plan now! T&C applies.
