KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed sharply lower on Monday, with more than 900 stocks ending in the red as a broad regional sell-off and a weaker ringgit weighed on investor sentiment.
The FBM KLCI closed down 13.91 points, or 0.82%, at 1,679.52. The benchmark index traded within a 7.19-point range during the day, touching a high of 1,684.14 and a low of 1,676.95.
All Bursa Malaysia indices ended in the red, with the Bursa Malaysia Plantation Index the sole gainer.
In the broader market, decliners outpaced advancers, with 916 stocks ending lower and 340 closing higher, meaning nearly three stocks fell for every one that rose, signalling bearish sentiment.
Traded volumes stood at 3.48 billion shares worth RM2.92bil.
Dealers said sentiment remained fragile as investors reacted to a broad regional sell-off, while the ringgit's decline further dampened risk appetite.
They added that profit-taking in selected heavyweight stocks and foreign selling also weighed on the local bourse.
Among the decliners, Nestle tumbled RM2.28 to RM92, Malaysian Pacific Industries
slid RM1.30 to RM45.50, PETRONAS Dagangan eased 64 sen to RM18.60 and Tanco fell 47 sen to RM1.12.
On the other hand, Concrete Engineering Products rose 65 sen to RM3.99, Ideal Capital added 30 sen to RM4.10, PJBumi gained 18 sen to RM3.43 and Kim Loong climbed 15 sen to RM2.70.
On the forex market, the ringgit fell 1.04% against the US dollar to 4.0718, its weakest level since early January.
The local currency also erased all of its gains for the year and was down 0.29% year-to-date.
Asian markets closed sharply lower, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan Index down 3.43%.
Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbled 3.85% to 64,024.60 while South Korea’s KOSPI fell 8.3% to close at 7,484.41, marking its biggest daily fall since March 4.
In China, CSI300 Index slid 2.14% to 4,713.64 while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.7% to 3,959.34.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 1.22% 24,657.06, and Taiwan’s Taiex shed 3.48% to 43,502.78.
