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 US market opened lower on Tuesday as weak Chinese data brings back the fear of a global economic slowdown.
Reuters reported that China's February trade performance was far worse than economists had expected, with exports tumbling the most in over six years. The data weighed on markets worldwide.
It is obvious that people are still very nervous and the market is in such a fragile state that any bad news could easily break it. Crude prices also shed their gains and were down about 2%.
Oil has recovered from the 2016 low touched in January, but Goldman Sachs analysts on Tuesday said the recent rally was premature as prices would need to remain lower to help rebalance the market later in the year.
At 9:39 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 84.02 points, or 0.49%, at 16,989.93, the S&P 500 was down 13.35 points, or 0.67%, at 1,988.41 and the Nasdaq Composite index was down 35.30 points, or 0.75%, at 4,672.95.
Investors are focusing on data for clues on the state of the global economy and monetary policies of central banks across the world.
The European Central Bank is expected to announce further stimulus at its meeting later this week.
In contrast, the U.S. Federal Reserve is looking to raise interest rates this year as a raft of data suggested the economic recovery in the United States was gaining momentum.
The positive sentiment helped the S&P 500 to its first five-day streak of gains since October and close above 2,000 for the first time since Jan. 5 on Monday.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,973 to 665. On the Nasdaq, 1,607 issues fell and 602 advanced.
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It is obvious that people are still very nervous and the market is in such a fragile state that any bad news could easily break it. Crude prices also shed their gains and were down about 2%.
Oil has recovered from the 2016 low touched in January, but Goldman Sachs analysts on Tuesday said the recent rally was premature as prices would need to remain lower to help rebalance the market later in the year.
At 9:39 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 84.02 points, or 0.49%, at 16,989.93, the S&P 500 was down 13.35 points, or 0.67%, at 1,988.41 and the Nasdaq Composite index was down 35.30 points, or 0.75%, at 4,672.95.
Investors are focusing on data for clues on the state of the global economy and monetary policies of central banks across the world.
The European Central Bank is expected to announce further stimulus at its meeting later this week.
In contrast, the U.S. Federal Reserve is looking to raise interest rates this year as a raft of data suggested the economic recovery in the United States was gaining momentum.
The positive sentiment helped the S&P 500 to its first five-day streak of gains since October and close above 2,000 for the first time since Jan. 5 on Monday.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,973 to 665. On the Nasdaq, 1,607 issues fell and 602 advanced.
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