[ad_1]
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 18): Bursa Malaysia finished generally lower mid-morning, with widespread selling pressure, led by the financial services sector.
The benchmark FBM KLCI index fell 22.99 points to 1,651.36 before the midday market breakout today, down from yesterday’s close at 1,674.35.
Previously, it opened 2.49 points better at 1,676.84 today, then moved between 1,649.47 and 1,678.11 during the morning trading session.
The overall breadth of the market was also negative, as losers outnumbered winners 883-260, while 430 accountants remained unchanged, 594 untraded and another 47 suspended.
The volume stood at 5.14 billion units worth RM2.05 billion.
Meanwhile, Asian peers took a cautious tone as sentiments ranged from optimism due to the launch of the Covid-19 vaccine and the ensuing global economic recovery, to concerns about rising infection rates.
Regionally, China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange rose 0.13% to 3,409.31, Singapore’s Straits Times Index was down 0.13% to 2,854.21, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.12 % to 26,774.73, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.67% to 26,499.90 and South Korea’s Kospi improved 0.16% to 2,774.94.
One trader said most Asian markets failed to track the US equity markets, which closed with new records, due to optimism about the $ 900 billion stimulus package seen as imminent.
On the home front, Bursa opened slightly higher, but fell back after five minutes of trading, and has continued to trend down due to selling pressure on heavyweight stocks, he noted.
Among heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) fell 18 sen to RM8.52, Public Bank Bhd fell 78 sen to RM20.72, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) lost six sen to RM10.74, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem ) slipped seven sen to RM7.49 and Top Glove Corp Bhd dropped eight sen to RM6.62.
Of the assets, Vsolar Group Bhd and Techna-X added one sen each to five sen and 19.5 sen respectively, MNC Wireless Bhd rose half a sen to 5.5 sen, Hiap Teck Venture Bhd lost three sen to 41 sen and Focus Dynamics Group Bhd’s the order was flat at 3.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas index was 148.82 points lower to 11,882.89, the FBMT 100 index fell 149.10 points to 11,645.10, the FBM Emas Shariah index decreased 107.26 points to 13,311.02, the FBM 70 fell 143.90 points to 15,223.94 and the FBM ACE lost 19.92 points to 10,583.34.
Meanwhile, the Industrial Products and Services Index dropped 1.16 points to 174.58, the Plantations Index decreased 70.76 points to 7,358.62, while the Financial Services Index decreased 293.01 points to 15,433, twenty.
[ad_2]
