As of 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was 1.47% or 22.16 points lower at 1,483.43, after opening at 20.69 points lower at 9am.
On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 1,054 to 72 with 168 counters unchanged, 749 not traded and 65 suspended.
Turnover spiked to 2.93 billion shares worth RM1.83 bil from 346.67 million shares worth RM161.85 mil at the opening.
Selling was persistent in energy, construction, technology, logistics counters and the ACE market as well as small and mid-sized cap stocks.
The energy and construction sectors were the worst-hit as the fate of ongoing, newly announced as well as revived infrastructure projects hang in the balance due to the ongoing political crisis.
Malaysian Refining was the top loser for the energy sector, shedding 30 sen to RM4.50, while KESM emerged as the biggest loser for the technology sector, losing 65 sen to RM8.70.
The Conference of Rulers meets today on the country’s political impasse.
“The probability of a snap election has increased as several political factions have stated their desire for Parliament to be dissolved,” said an analyst.
Of the FBM KLCI counters, 27 out of the 30 recorded a decline with Maybank shedding seven sen to RM8.45, Tenaga Nasional declining 16 sen to RM12.34, MISC slipping 14 sen to RM7.62, Petronas Chemicals down 27 sen to RM5.53, PPB losing 24 sen to RM18.06 and Maxis giving up 10 sen to RM5.41.
On the index board, all were painted red with the FBM Emas Index down 222.76 points to 10,461.91, the FBMT 100 Index losing 1699.82 points to 10,289.39 and the FBM ACE shedding 362.85 points to 5,222.27.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 271.99 points to 11,082.79 and the FBM 70 declined 439.21 points to 12,789.70.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 5.90 points to 132.73, while the Financial Services Index slid 148.73 points to 14,344.93 and the Plantation Index slipped 146.99 points to 6,806.47. – Feb 28, 2020, Bernama
