KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia extended its sell-off on Tuesday, with more than 800 stocks ending in the red as renewed bets on a more hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve sparked a broad sell-off across Asian equity markets.
The FBM KLCI extended its losses for a second straight session, hitting an intraday low of 1,679.92, down 20.92 points or 1.23%. The index hit an intraday high of 1,703.10.
All Bursa Malaysia sectoral indices ended in the red, with only the Plantation Index and Transportation & Logistics Index posting gains.
Market breadth remained firmly negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 878 to 325, translating to a market breadth ratio of 2.70 and indicating that selling pressure continued to dominate trading.
A total of 3.36 billion shares worth RM3.12bil changed hands.
Dealers said the local market tracked the broader regional sell-off as investors turned cautious over the prospect of higher-for-longer US interest rates.
Adding to the downbeat mood were steep declines across major regional bourses, particularly in Japan and South Korea, which further dampened risk appetite.
Ajinomoto (Malaysia) emerged as the top gainer on Bursa Malaysia after its parent company, Ajinomoto Co announced plans to acquire the remaining shares it does not own at RM20 apiece and take the company private.
The food seasoning manufacturer jumped RM3.80, or 25%, to RM19.00, with 2.12 million shares changing hands.
Other gainers included United Plantations, which rose RM1 to RM32.96, Batu Kawan, which added 76 sen to RM21.56, and Kuala Lumpur Kepong, which gained 68 sen to RM21.60.
Among the decliners, Malaysian Pacific Industries
led the losses, tumbling RM2.34 to RM46.50, followed by UMS Integration, which fell 82 sen to RM8.20. Kelington Group slid 44 sen to RM7.28, while Hong Leong Bank declined 40 sen to RM21.72.
Meanwhile, the ringgit strengthened 0.1% against the US dollar to 4.1440 and gained 0.27% against the Singapore dollar to 3.1997.
Reuters reported that the U.S. dollar climbed to a more than one-year high as traders positioned for a more hawkish Federal Reserve, despite easing Gulf tensions and softer oil prices.
On the external front, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan Index fell 3.67%, with most regional equity markets ending the day in negative territory.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 3.6% to 69,788.38, its lowest in a week, slipping below the 70,000 mark for the first time since last Wednesday.
South Korea’s Kospi plunged almost 10% to 8,203.84 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1.82% to 23,336.28.
In China, the CSI 300 Index finished 2.77% lower at 4,919.39, while the Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.37% to 4,106.25.
