KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia remained in the red at mid-afternoon as market sentiment remained weak amid uncertainties due to COVID-19 that have triggered worldwide travel bans and a recession scare, coupled with lower oil prices.
At 3.05pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) erased 65.83 points or 4.89% to 1,278.92 from Friday’s close of 1,344.75, after opening 25.38 points lower at 1,319.37 this morning.
On the broader market, losers trounced gainers 1,036 to 76, with 113 counters unchanged, 796 untraded and 31 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.81 billion shares worth RM2.10 bil.
On the regional front, Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 3.99% to 2,528.78, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 3.84% to 23,109.26 and the Jakarta Composite Index was 4.3% lower at 4,696.76.
Among the heavyweights on Bursa Malaysia, Maybank lost 66 sen to RM7.22, Tenaga declined 46 sen to RM11.36, Public Bank decreased 90 sen to RM14.40 and IHH went down 13 sen to RM5.25.
Of the actives, Sapura Energy inched down one sen to 9.5 sen, Borneo Oil was flat at 1.5 sen and Bumi Armada declined two sen to 14 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index erased 518.19 points to 8,808.22, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dipped 436.45 points to 9,548.54 and the FBM 70 shed 790.51 points to 10,219.72.
The FBMT 100 Index gave up 498.01 points to 8,720.95 and the FBM Ace depreciated 447.33 points to 3,844.66.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 7.83 points to 102.84, the Plantation Index decreased 70.83 points to 5,776.68 and the Financial Services Index gave up 966.22 points to 11,856.11. – March 16, 2020, Bernama
