AirAsia falls to September 2010 low

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of AirAsia Bhd fell to a low of RM1.78 on Thursday on concerns about the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and its impact on air travel but greater concerns could be about the weak ringgit.

At 3.28pm, it was down 23 sen to RM1.79 – the lowest since September 2010. There were 54.89 million shares traded at prices ranging from RM1.78 to RM2.04.

The FBM KLCI is down 1.71 points or 0.1% to 1,733.92. Turnover was one billion shares valued at RM1.05bil. There were 258 gainers, 453 losers and 317 counters unchanged.

Reports said the fall in the low-cost carrier’s share price could be due to foreign fund selling, which had earlier hit telcos and selected banks.

AirAsia could also be hit by the depreciating ringgit as sizeable fixed costs are in US dollar while bulk of earnings are in ringgit, analysts said.

Reuters reported South Korea's central bank cut its rate to a record low 1.5% to offset the potential impact of an outbreak of MERS.