KUALA LUMPUR: There was no respite for Bursa Malaysia again as the FBM KLCI extended its decline early Tuesday, the sixth straight day of losses as worries about the geopolitical tensions on the Korean Peninsula weighing on key Asian markets.
Digi, IHH Healthcare and AirAsia were among the early losers amid a mixed broader market.
At 9.18am, the KLCI was down 1.75 points or 0.1% to 1,767.39. Turnover was 626.36 million shares valued at RM112mil. There were 125 gainers, 182 losers and 236 counters unchanged.
Reuters reported Asian shares slumped on Tuesday while the dollar remained off recent highs against the yen against the backdrop of rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea's foreign minister said on Monday that a weekend tweet by President Donald Trump counted as a declaration of war on North Korea and that Pyongyang reserved the right to take countermeasures, including shooting down US bombers even if they are not in its air space, according to the report.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2% in early trade, following losses on Wall Street.
Australian shares were up 0.1%, while South Korean shares were 0.3% down. Japan's Nikkei stock index sagged 0.2%, pressured by a stronger yen.
On Bursa Malaysia, Kenanga Investment Bank Research said on Monday, the KLCI closed down 1.90 points or 0.11% at 1,769.14 while the broader market was mixed.
“From technical view, the key index vacillated between gains and losses throughout the day, although spending the day mostly in the red.
“The movement also led to MACD line to cross deeper below the Signal-line, signalling continued momentum loss. However, now that the index is testing cluster of support level, we would not rule out the emergence of bargain hunting activities at these levels.
“In contrast, a more decisive break down below the 1,770 (S1) level will lead to derating of the overall technical picture towards 1,760 (S2). Meanwhile, the resistance levels to watch are 1,796 (R1) and 1,840 (R2),” Kenanga Research pointed out.
Digi fell 13 sen to RM4.78, Honng Leong Bank eight sen lower to RM15.80 but with just 100 shares done, IHH Healthcare and AirAsia lost seven sen each to RM5.75 and RM3.46.
MPI fell 12 sen to RM13.10, Poh Huat eight sen to RM1.88 and Halex 6.5 sen to 83 sen.
Bison charged 13 sen higher to RM2.33 following an improved set of earnings and upgrade by CIMB Research, Hong Leong Industries added eight sen to RM9.40 while Sime Darby gained seven sen to RM9.17.
MISC added seven sen to RM7.45 and Dialog Group
five sen to RM2.06. MISC is selling its 45% stake in Centralised Terminals Sdn Bhd (CTSB) to Dialog Group Bhd for RM137m, and also recover its RM56m shareholder loan to CTSB.
BToto and Lii Hen added five sen each to RM2.47 and RM3.73.
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