BURSA Malaysia ended lower on Thursday amid mixed performance on regional bourses as market sentiment was partly dampened by a slump in Brent crude oil price following the blockage in the Suez Canal after a ship ran aground.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 4.67 points to 1,597.73 points compared with 1,602.40 at the close yesterday.
The index opened 5.46 points better at 1,607.86 and moved between 1,594.33 and 1,608.05 throughout the day.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said the incident in the Suez Canal had raised concerns in the market, particularly on oil tankers transporting oil from the west to the east and vice versa as well as container ships movement.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 580 to 429, while 469 counters were unchanged, 754 untraded and 22 others suspended.
Total volume fell to 6.01 billion shares valued at RM3.04 bil from 6.95 billion shares valued at RM3.56 bil on Wednesday. – March 25, 2021
