KUALA LUMPUR: It was a sea of red on the local bourse on Thursday, with losers outpacing gainers, reflecting the current weak sentiment in the market.
The benchmark FBM KLCI slipped below the flat line, losing 20.55 points, or 1.22% to 1,663.66 in a sea of red. The index opened 3.43 points firmer at 1,687.64 this morning.
Market breadth was negative, as decliners outstripped gainers 547 to 302 while with 409 counters unchanged. Trading volume stood at 2.96 billion shares worth RM2.14mil.
KLCI-component stocks were overwhelmingly in the negative, with 24 decliners against two gainers while four counters unchanged.
Dealers said the remarks by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng on windfall taxes for banks in Malaysia may have worried investors as well as the China-U.S. trade talks.
Lim has clarified on Thursday that the government has no intention to impose windfall taxes on banks. However, he urged banks to be “more flexible” in lending.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Washington may leave tariffs on Chinese goods for a ”substantial period” to ensure Beijing’s compliance with any trade deal.
Most stock markets in the region rose on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a more dovish stance than expected for the year.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 index was unchanged at 3,836.89 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index closed up 0.3% at 3,101.46 points.
South Korea’s KOSPI ended up 7.78 points or 0.36% to 2,184.88 points.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.9% to 29,071.56, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.7% to 11,544.09.
On Bursa Malaysia, Nestle tumbled RM2.20 to RM145.50, Public Bank shed 60 sen to RM23.86 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 50 sen to RM24.48.
Laggards in the FBM KLCI component stocks were led by Public Bank, which dragged the index down by 4.06 points. Hong Leong Bank pulled down the index by 1.738 points, shed 46 sen to RM20.34 while Petronas Chemicals pushed the index down by 1.394 points, falling 10 sen to RM9.04.
Tenaga shed 14 sen to RM12.88, Maybank declined seven sen to RM9.40 and CIMB fell six sen to RM5.33.
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