KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia extended losses in early trade today on continuous selling activities in most counters.
At 9.10am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) inched down 0.37 of-a-point, or 0.03% to 1,496.11 from Wednesday's close of 1,496.48.
The index opened easier by 1.76 point at 1,494.72.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 288 to 134, while 283 counters were unchanged, 1,384 untraded and 29 others suspended.
Total volume stood at 820.14 million units worth RM351.69 million.
With the recent development on domestic front, market analysts noted that the political situation in the country, on top of external factors like the upcoming US election, has given rise to a heightened sense of uncertainty.
However, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the FBM KLCI could endure further volatility following the renewed local political uncertainty, coupled with the dour note set by Wall Street overnight.
It added that the selling was more pronounced as foreign funds continue to shy away from Malaysia’s equities, with year-to-date outflow of RM21.65 billion.
“The lower liners and broader market shares will remain under pressure as sentiment turned dour as of late, while investors will be keeping an eye on the FTSE Russell decision on keeping Malaysia in the World Government Bond Index,” said Malacca Securities in a note today.
Among the heavyweights, Top Glove increased nine sen to RM8.11, Public Bank gained two sen to RM15.66, Hartalega advanced 22 sen to RM14.72, while Maybank, TNB and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM7.17, RM10.90 and RM5.26, respectively, and Petronas Chemicals trimmed eight sen to RM5.42.
Of the actives, Kanger International edged up half-a-sen to 26.5 sen, Solution Group gained 2.5 sen to 72.5 sen, while Lambo Group, Sapura Energy and Pasukhas were flat at 3.5 sen, 11 sen and 8.5 sen, respectively.
Advance Synergy declined two sen to 17 sen, CME Group and Malayan United eased one sen each to 10 sen and 13.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slipped 8.10 points to 10,725.89 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index trimmed 10.73 points to 12,719.49.
The FBM 70 discounted 25.71 points to 13,821.21, the FBMT 100 Index went down 6.87 points to 10,555.77 and the FBM ACE was 29.44 points lower at 10,339.47.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index added 2.18 points to 12,449.32, the Plantation Index was 6.88 points easier at 7,080.37 and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 1.03 point to 132.51. – Bernama, September 24, 2020
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