Bursa Malaysia remains lower at mid-morning

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia remains lower at mid-morning due to losses across the board, with the exception of healthcare stocks, amid unrelenting concerns over the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak.

At 11.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 8.71 points to 1,545.78 from Friday’s 1,554.49, after opening 2.58 points firmer at 1,557.07 this morning.

Market breadth was negative as losers outnumbered gainers 481 to 206, with 286 counters unchanged, 1,010 untraded and 36 others suspended. 

Turnover amounted to 1.06 billion shares worth RM603.8 mil.

In a note, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said with the unrelenting coronavirus outbreak, it expects that regional markets would face some headwinds today.

“We expect the FBM KLCI to dip below its immediate support level of 1,550.

“Meanwhile, if this pandemic is prolonged, there is a high likelihood that the US Federal Reserve may look at reducing interest rates again to boost the US economy,” it added.

On the regional front, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index eased 0.6% to 27,239.43, Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.33% to 3,170.92 and the Jakarta Composite Index declined 0.72% to 5,956.26.

Among heavyweights on Bursa Malaysia, Maybank was flat at RM8.51, Tenaga declined 26 sen to RM12.48, Public Bank was 12 sen weaker at RM18.22 and Petronas Chemicals declined four sen to RM6.41.

Among heavyweights in the healthcare sector, Top Glove rose nine sen to RM5.75, IHH gained one sen to RM5.79 and Hartalega added 10 sen to RM5.90.

Of the actives, ARB was down half-a-sen to nine sen, Securemetric rose one sen to 22 sen and AirAsia lost six sen to RM1.25.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 59.77 points to 11,000.40, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 68.64 points to 11,697.57 and the FBMT 100 Index shed 59.10 points to 10,801.62.

The FBM 70 was 68.02 points weaker at 13,756.65 and the FBM Ace lost 20.01 points to 5,501.77.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.46 of-a-point to 144.92, the Financial Services Index was 85.14 points lower at 14,896.02 and the Plantation Index reduced 42.14 points to 7,265.77. – Feb 10, 2020, Bernama

Subscribe and get top news delivered to your Inbox everyday for FREE