Bursa Malaysia down; refiners hit by heavy selling

KUALA LUMPUR: A negative vibe lingered across Bursa Malaysia on Monday, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement to impose hefty tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium sparking fears of a global trade war.

At 5pm, the benchmarck FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI finished at 1,842.62, down 13.45 points, after moving between 1,853.75 and 1,840.06. The index opened 2.32 points lower this morning at 1,853.75.

In the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers with 172 counters ended higher, 963 closed lower and 266 counters were unchanged. Turnover stood at 2.62 billion shares worth RM2.4bil.

The uncertainty over the effects of the implementation of tariffs on steel and aluminium imports by US President Donald Trump has hit steel related counters. 

Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd is one of top loser, shedding 50 sen, or 9.14%, to RM4.97 with 31.8 million shares traded. Press Metal dragged the index down by 3.458 points. Ann Joo Resources Bhd fell 3.49%, or 12 sen to RM3.32 while  Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd lost seven sen, or 6.54% to RM1.

Also in focus on Bursa Malaysia are Hengyuan Refining Co Bhd and Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd. The two refiners saw a combined market capitalisation of more than RM750mil being wiped out.

Hengyuan, the second top loser, plunged RM1.80, or 14.78% to RM10.38 with 9.8 million shares. The steep fall in the share price wiped out RM540mil in market capitalisation in a single day.

Petron fell by some 7.6%, or 80 sen, wiping out some RM216mil from its market capitalisation. 

Elsewhere in the region, Reuters reported Japan’s Nikkei share average dropped to a level unseen since mid-October as fears that a global trade war could break out hurt steelmakers, automakers and shipping companies.

The Nikkei 225 ended 0.7% lower at 21,042.09 while the broader Topix dropped 0.8% to 1,694.79.

China stocks were little changed on Monday, the first day of the country’s annual meeting of parliament where few surprises are expected. At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 3.00 points or 0.1% at 3,254.53 while the blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.05%.