BURSA Malaysia remained low at mid-morning on Thursday (Jan 30) following losses in index-linked heavyweights due to weak market sentiment.
A dealer said the market sentiment was affected by concerns on the economic impact of the novel coronavirus which originated from Wuhan,China.
At 11.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 4.42 points to 1,546.05 from Wednesday’s close of 1,550.47, after opening 0.78 of a point better at 1,551.25.
The overall market breadth was negative with losers leading gainers 400 to 230, while 346 counters remained unchanged, 1,015 were not traded and 76 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 1.08 billion shares worth RM624.73 mil.
The decline in the FBM KLCI was also in line with regional markets, as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 1.75% to 26,685.89, Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell by 0.48% to 3,167.17 and the Jakarta Composite Index eased by 0.19% to 6,101.59.
Among the heavyweights on Bursa Malaysia, Maybank added one sen to RM8.46, Public Bank was 10 sen lower at RM18.90, Tenaga decreased six sen to RM12.50 and Petronas Chemicals declined 10 sen to RM6.48.
Of the actives, RGB International rose three sen to 20.5 sen, while Xidelang and MTouche were unchanged at 17 sen and 19 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 29.29 points to 11,050.33 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 45.75 points to 11,738.53.
The FBMT 100 Index fell 27.52 points to 10,843.10, the FBM 70 was 21.34 points weaker at 13,971.95 and the FBM Ace increased 5.39 points to 5,641.18.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.97 of a point to 147.56, the Financial Services Index declined 27.50 points to 14,886.65 and the Plantation Index was 27.16 points weaker at 7,187.04. – Jan 30, 2020, Bernama