KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed marginally lower on Friday, as cautious sentiment persisted, with investors remaining on the sidelines amid ongoing conflicts in West Asia, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.80 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 1,695.50 from Thursday’s close of 1,698.30. The benchmark index opened 5.82 points higher at 1,704.12, and moved between 1,693.65 and 1,708.12 throughout the day. However, market breadth remained positive, with gainers outnumbering losers 634 to 415, while 521 counters were unchanged, 1,077 untraded and 10 suspended. Turnover improved to 3.38 billion units worth RM2.95 billion from yesterday’s 3.20 billion units worth RM3.50 billion.
The benchmark KLCI FBM index lost 19.88 points or 1.2% to close at 1,633.3.
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| FBM KLCI downtrend continued as oil stumbles |
Last week, the market had a short rally after the
announcement made by Prime Minister Najib on the recalibrated Budget 2016 but
at this level, the KLCI is on a lower level than after the rally.
The decline in the index is in line with the world market, as oil price's decline worsen after hopes for oil-producing nations to reach an agreement for cutting production seem to falter.
It appears that the bear market is here to stay.Most Asian markets tumbled today as oil prices dropped for a third day. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 3.15%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 2.36%, China's Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.38%, Australia's S&P/ASX200 dropped by 2.33%, and South Korea's Kospi Index shed 0.84%. Singapore's Straits Times Index also fell by 1.1%.
Shell Refining Co (Federation of Malaya) Bhd was the biggest decliner, falling by as much as 29.96% to RM3.46 before paring its losses to close at RM3.68. Shell Refining's major shareholder Shell Overseas Holdings Ltd has agreed to sell its 51% stake at a huge discount, for RM1.80 apiece.
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