Trust deficit on Sino-US trade deal leaves Bursa lower

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed lower on  Dec 16 due to a trust deficit surrounding the Sino-US trade talks, with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shedding 1.81 points to 1,569.35 compared to Dec  13’s close of 1,571.16.

The benchmark index moved between 1,565.59 and 1,573.41 throughout the day.

Market breadth remained in the red as decliners overtook gainers 453 to 376, while 404 counters were unchanged, 753 untraded and 16 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 2.29 billion shares worth RM1.76 bil.

An analyst noted that although the White House claimed that trade negotiations with China had gone well, their Chinese counterpart remained mum.

“They may have called off the new tariffs but a bulk of the previous tariffs on more than US$360 bil (RM1.49 tril) of Chinese goods still remain.

“So far, there is no clear direction on the future of the trade deals as the second phase of the talk might be delayed until after the US presidential election at the end of next year, which will drag the market longer,” she said.

On the technical front, she noted that the index will continue to trade in consolidation, hovering between 1,560 and 1,575, depending on external factors.

“Local push would be muted as the market heads towards year-end,” she opined.

Among the heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional declined 12 sen to RM13.06, Petronas Dagangan shed 14 sen to RM23.40, Dialog lost four sen to RM3.40, IHH slipped five sen to RM5.35 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong shed 20 sen to RM24.50.

Of the actives, Ecovest was down two sen to 88.5 sen, Iskandar Waterfront was flat at RM1.02 while TDM gained 3.5 sen to 32 sen.

As for top gainers, Panasonic Manufacturing was up RM2.82 sen to RM39.92, Petronas Gas rose 46 sen to RM17.40, while MISC and QL both added 23 sen to RM8.56 and RM7.78; while for top losers, F&N declined 76 sen to RM33.34, Dutch Lady shed 52 sen to RM48.98 and Nestle declined 30 sen to RM144.30.

The FBM Emas Index dropped 5.29 points to 11,182.29, the FBM Emas Shariah Index depreciated 4.31 points to 11,830.66 while the FBMT 100 Index eased by 8.43 points to 10,977.37.

Meanwhile, FBM Ace declined 42.59 points to 4,950.34 while the FBM 70 added 6.65 points to 14,025.65.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index shed 18.23 points to 15,234.81, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.51 point to 152.65 and the Plantation Index gained 9.66 points to 7,506.07.

Main Market volume declined to 1.59 billion shares worth RM1.60 bil compared with 2.20 billion shares worth RM2.36 bil on  Dec 13.

Warrants turnover slipped to 309.44 million units worth RM54.21 mil compared with 348.96 million units valued at RM50.27 bil last week.

Meanwhile, volume on the ACE Market was slightly higher at 387.94 million worth RM101.86 mil compared with 387.26 million shares worth RM99.58 mil previously.

Consumer products and services accounted for 185.22 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (166.18 million), construction (367.89 million), technology (135.69 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (42.62 million), property (236.08 million), plantations (171.19 million), REITs (49.90 million), closed/fund (nil), energy (202.27 million), healthcare (9.77 million), telecommunications and media (18.11 million), transportation and logistics (27.54 million), and utilities (25.55 million). – Bernama

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