KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index closed lower today, in line with most regional markets, as investors adjusted their risk exposure amid spiralling oil prices driven by the ongoing West Asia conflict, now in its second month. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) retreated by 24.75 points or 1.44 per cent to 1,687.90 from Friday’s close of 1,712.65. The market bellwether opened 10.57 points weaker at 1,702.08 and fluctuated between 1,682.79 and 1,702.38. The broader market was bearish, with decliners thumping advancers 956 to 371. A total of 373 counters were unchanged, 1,042 untraded and 134 suspended. Turnover expanded to 3.98 billion units worth RM4.85 billion from last Friday’s 2.97 billion units worth RM3.25 billion.
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 7): The FBM KLCI slipped 0.14% or 2.4 points to close at 1,688.84 today due in part to falls in heavyweights such as Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd.
Trading continued to be sluggish with a section of investors still preferring to stay at the sidelines awaiting better leads.
Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive and fund manager Danny Wong, however, noted that the market has attracted some fresh buying interest, supported by the price of crude oil and better clarity on US economic policies under Donald Trump's presidency.
"Since early-January, there have been upsides in stock prices with the FBM KLCI trading above 1,600 points. This is obviously better than last year when earnings and sentiment were bad," Wong told theedgemarkets.com over telephone.
"If oil prices continue strengthening to about US$50–US$60 (a barrel) amid OPEC's output cuts, we could be seeing the local stock market hitting 1,700 points," he added.
A total of 2.14 billion shares valued at about RM2.1 billion were traded today. There were 436 gainers and 420 losers.
Reuters reported that the demand for Asian stocks and the euro had subsided on continued economic and political concerns following the slump of China's foreign exchange reserves in January.
In the United States, Wall Street slipped 0.2%, dragged down by the falling oil prices as well as weaker sentiment due to Trump's economic policies.
On the regional front, Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.35%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.07%, and South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.12%.
Source: The Edge
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