KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended lower today, with the benchmark index declining 0.5 per cent, weighed down by selected heavyweights led by Press Metal, IHH Healthcare, and Tenaga Nasional. Press Metal shed 16 sen to RM4.87, IHH Healthcare dipped 14 sen to RM6.75, and TNB slipped 18 sen to RM13.58. These stocks resulted in a 6.12-point decline in the benchmark index. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 7.61 points to 1,518.91 versus Wednesday’s close of 1,526.52. The benchmark index opened 9.22 points lower at 1,517.30 and fluctuated between 1,512.32 and 1,524.41 throughout the day. In the broader market, losers thumped gainers 548 to 357, while 448 counters were unchanged, 994 untraded and eight suspended. Turnover rose to 2.51 billion units valued at RM1.81 billion against Wednesday’s 2.37 billion units valued at RM2.03 billion. ...
FBM KLCI was brought back below 1,700 mark as the Asian markets were dragged down by the less-than-rosy economic prospects voiced by the Bank of Japan (BoJ).
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| FBM KLCI closed lower, dropping below 1,700 mark |
The benchmark index was down by 0.55% or 9.39 points to 1,690.92 at closing. The underperformance of banking and telecommunications stocks as well as Genting Bhd has impacted the FBM KLCI as well.
Across the board, gainers led losers by 409 counters to 381 counters, while 381 counters finished unchanged. There was 1.52 billion shares traded worth at RM1.704 billion.
The top gainers included Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd and Can-One Bhd.
AirAsia Bhd was the most actively traded counter with 65.23 million shares done.
The decliners included British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd, JMR Conglomeration Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd and Genting.
According to Reuters, Asian stocks fell today after the BoJ expressed more pessimism about the outlook for exports, industrial output and inflation, but the yen firmed as policymakers appeared to back away from any imminent move to cut interest rates further into negative territory.
Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 0.68% lower at 17,117.07 points, South Korea's Kospi was down 0.12% at 1,969.97 points while Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed 0.72% lower at 20,288.77 points.
As for the crude oil, prices dropped as renewed concerns on the recovery of its price will be affected by the ongoing oversupply. The fall in crude oil prices followed the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) statement that global demand for its crude would be less than previously thought in 2016 as supply from rivals proves more resilient to low prices, increasing the excess supply in the market this year, Reuters reported.
The April futures contract for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil dropped 2.29% to US$36.33 per barrel while the contract for Brent crude oil dropped 2.4% to US$38.58 per barrel.
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