KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI slipped below the 1,700 psychological level during intraday trade on Friday before recovering to close above the mark, tracking a broad regional sell-off.
Sentiment was further dampened by news of US President Donald Trump's latest Section 301 tariff measures, which fuelled concerns over global trade, although easing oil prices later in the session helped pare losses.
The FBM KLCI fell 13.57 points, or 0.79%, to 1,701.02, after trading within a 13.04-point range between its intraday high of 1,710.80 and low of 1,697.76.
For the week, the benchmark index declined 30.43 points, or 1.76%, closing lower on four of the five trading days, with Thursday the only session ending in positive territory.
Among the decliners, Malaysian Pacific Industries
slid RM1.10 to RM45.08, Nestle lost 58 sen to RM90.62, Hong Leong Bank declined 38 sen to RM21.98 and F&N gave up 34 sen to RM28.30.
ESYS Holdings, which debuted on the LEAP Market today, surged 400%, or 44 sen, to 55 sen, with 67,400 shares changing hands.
Other gainers included United Plantations, which rose 32 sen to RM33.42, Allianz, which added 28 sen to RM21.24, Chin Teck, which climbed 28 sen to RM11.34, and Ideal Capital, which gained 24 sen to RM3.99.
On the forex market, the ringgit fell 0.08% against the US dollar to 4.0922 and edged down 0.05% versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1699
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Brent crude futures rose above US$100 a barrel in the previous session for the first time since May after Iran-aligned Houthi forces said they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
Brent crude fell US$3.94, or 3.91%, to US$96.75 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at US$88.97 per barrel, down US$3.22, or 3.49%.
Among the key regional markets:
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 2.73% at 64,611.15;
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.98% to 24,963.23;
China’s CSI 300 Index lost 1.67% to 4,649.19;
Taiwan’s Taiex fell 2.67% to 43,654.84;
South Korea’s Kospi skidded 5.72% to 6,690.62; and
Singapore’s Straits Times Index closed down 0.12% at 5,575.11 points.
