LATE sell-offs prompted the FBM KLCI to end the day lower amid rising United States-China trade tension, said an analyst.
At the close, the key index declined 12.62 points or 0.91% to 1,376.93, after moving between 1,376.93 and 1,393.56 during the day.
The FBM KLCI had opened 1.8 points easier at 1,387.75.
On the broader market, gainers and losers were almost equal at 445 to 441, while 397 counters were unchanged, 593 untraded and 27 others suspended.
AxiCorp chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said the escalation in the US-China spat made things increasingly uncomfortable in the region, even though the market is not pricing in a high probability of tariffs getting reinstated.
“I’m a bit surprised by the late session sell-offs on the FBM KLCI but I think it’s still a bit of an overhang as regional export data is expected to run weak for a while.
“Still, regional investors remain cautious (due to the US-China trade tension). But I think the rise in oil prices will eventually prove to be supportive,” he told Bernama.
Bursa Malaysia’s total turnover rose to 5.89 billion shares worth RM2.80 bil from Tuesday’s 5.76 billion shares valued at RM2.70 bil.
Among heavyweights, IHH Healthcare went up one sen to RM5.19, Axiata was flat at RM3.87, Maybank eased seven sen to RM7.41, TNB trimmed 22 sen to RM12.16, Public Bank slipped 32 sen to RM15.74, Petronas Chemicals shed three sen to RM5.47 and Maxis went down two sen to RM5.26.
As for the actives, Key Alliance rose 1.5 sen to 11 sen, AT Systematization was up by one sen to 4.5 sen, Rimbunan Sawit advanced four sen to 26 sen, FGV appreciated 8.5 sen to 94.5 sen, TDM increased 2.5 sen to 23 sen and Sapura Energy was flat at 23 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index depreciated 62.54 points to 9,683.66, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 66.86 points to 9,536.97, the FBM Emas Shariah Index trimmed 58.68 points to 10,783.93, while the FBM ACE was 17.78 points higher at 4,927.66 and the FBM 70 gained 1.78 points to 11,788.29.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index shrank 123.52 points to 12,230.58, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.12 of a point to 120.44, while the Plantation Index went up 26.77 points to 6,278.53.
Main Market volume eased to 4.02 billion shares worth RM2.47 bil from 4.12 billion shares worth RM2.34 bil on Tuesday.
Warrants turnover increased to 391.71 million units worth RM70.11 mil from 276.86 million units worth RM47.54 mil yesterday.
Meanwhile, volume on the ACE Market was slightly higher at 1.47 billion shares worth RM256.44 mil from 1.36 billion shares worth RM315.07 mil previously.
Consumer products and services accounted for 479.45 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (571.15 million), construction (364.91 million), technology (410.18 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (44.24 million), property (339.08 million), plantations (561.62 million), REITs (6.91 million), closed/fund (14,600), energy (805.31 billion), healthcare (48.32 million), telecommunications and media (168.76 million), transportation and logistics (179.47 million), and utilities (37.63 million). — May 6, 2020, Bernama
