The key FBM KLCI fell briefly below the crucial 1,600 level in afternoon trade on Monday on mounting selling pressure in line with the key Asian markets.
KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips snapped their two days of gains on Friday, as selling of IHH Healthcare, Tenaga Nasional and banks dragged the FBM KLCI into the red, in line with the weaker key Asian markets.
At 5pm, the KLCI was down 14.04 points or 0.84% to 1,661.96. Turnover was thin with 1.50 billion shares valued at RM1.38bil. Decliners beat advancers by more than two to one or 541 losers to 242 gainers and 339 counters unchanged.
Stocks worldwide tumbled after weak economic data from China and Europe fanned concerns of a global economic slowdown and left investors fretting over the wider impact of a still-unresolved China-US trade dispute.
The MSCI All-Country World Index, which tracks stocks across 47 countries, was down 0.5%, Reuters reported.
Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 2.02%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index down 1.62%, Shanghai Composite Index 1.53%, South Korea's Kospi 1.25% while Singapore's STI slid 1.09%.
At Bursa, weighing down the KLCI was IHH which fell 20 sen to RM5.40 and erased 3.11 points from the index.
India's Supreme Court put the sale of Fortis Healthcare on hold, sending the shares of the Indian company down.
IHH acquired a 31.1% stake for RM2.348bil in cash-strapped Fortis, which operates about 30 private hospitals in India, in July after an extended bidding war for control of the company.
Tenaga lost 20 sen to RM13.26 and wiped out 2.02 points while MAHB was down 16 sen to RM7.87.
Among the banks, Public Bank fell 24 sen to RM24.74, Maybank seven sen to RM9.37, CIMB four sen to RM5.80 but RHB Bank rose twp sen to RM5.37.
US light crude oil rose four cents to US$52.62 but Brent fell 17 cents to US$61.28.
Petronas Dagangan lost 38 sen to RM25.60, Petronas Gas fell 26 sen to RM18.94 and Petronas Chemical five sen to RM9.12 while Dialoj shed two sen to RM3.12.
Crude palm oil rose RM23 to RM2,069 per tonne on expectations of a dop in stockpile.
IOI Corp fell five sen to RM4.28, Sime Plantation three sen to RM4.28, PPB Group 10 sen lower at RM16.90 while KL Kepong was down eight sen to RM24.
Genting rose five sen to RM6.07, Genting Malaysia lost two sen to RM2.79.
Among the telcos, Maxis rose four sen to RM5.25, Telekom lost four sen to RM2.61 while Axiata and Digi two sen each to RM3.86 and RM4.35.
Kian Joo jumped 60 sen to RM2.63 and Can-One
added 21 sen to RM2.14.
MIDF Research is negative on Can-One's mandatory general offer (MGO) for Kian Joo Can Factory Bhd (KJCF) as the price will be too steep and impact its gearing.
The research house said on Friday it had a negative view on the MGO due to steep price and potentially no earnings accretion.
The ringgit weakened against the US dollar by 0.17% to 4.1865 but rose 0.7% against the US dollar to 5.2622 and gained 0,69% to the euro at 4.7259 and gained 0.31% to the Singapore unit at 3.0418.
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
