KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed lower on Friday amid mixed regional market performance as investors turned cautious over a possible rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and upcoming US economic data that may influence the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate decision next week. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) pared most earlier losses to settle 4.55 points easier, or 0.28 per cent, to 1,616.52 from Thursday’s close of 1,621.07. The benchmark index, which opened 0.37 of-a-point lower at 1,620.70, moved between 1,609.67 and 1,621.25 throughout the day. The broader market was negative, with decliners outpacing advancers 604 to 439. A total of 550 counters were unchanged, 1,151 untraded, and 18 suspended. Turnover declined to 3.17 billion units worth RM2.24 billion from 4.48 billion units worth RM2.75 billion yesterday. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-presiden...
KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 25): Malaysian stocks were not spared a sweeping sell-off on Thursday as Asian markets tracked overnight losses on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) tumbling more than 600 points to wipe out its year-to-date gain.
Earlier in the morning, the benchmark FBM KLCI plunged to a low of 1,670.34 points, and traded below the 1,690-point level for the rest of the day. It recouped part of its losses to finish at its intra-day high of 1,686.59 points for a 3.45-point or 0.2% decline.
Dialog Group Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd, and Genting Bhd were the three biggest losers among the component stocks.
The FBM Small Cap index plummeted another 253.32 points or 1.97% today to close at 12,592.22 points.
Inter-Pacific Research Sdn Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew told theedgemarkets.com that small cap stocks — generally the least liquid — tend to suffer the biggest drops as investors enter into a panic-selling mode.
"Last night was a big move in the DJIA and Nasdaq, and such a big move has got a spillover effect on sentiments across Asia. It could be a situation that develops into a panic-selling, which was what we had seen here this morning. But when cooler heads prevail, we clawed back some of these losses," he said.
However, Pong said the modest recovery may not be sustainable as there may be "surprise developments" overnight on Wall Street even if the current uptick in the Dow Jones mini futures index may be giving off positive indications.
Across the local bourse today, market breadth was negative with more than four stocks finishing in the red for every one stock that was up. Decliners totalled 768, versus 173 gainers, while 333 counters closed unchanged.
Trading volume stood at 2.24 billion worth RM2.34 billion, compared with Wednesday's 2.25 billion shares worth RM1.87 billion.
Back home among the sectoral indices, the technology index suffered the most, dropping 3.65% to 34.55 points, followed by utilities, down 2.82% to 907.98 points.
On Wednesday, the DJIA plunged 608.01 points or 2.41% as mixed corporate earnings and weak housing data fueled anxiety that rising prices will crimp economic growth, Bloomberg reported.
Save for the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index, which eked out a marginal 0.51-point or 0.02% gain, Asian stocks were not spared the carnage. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost more than 820 points or 3.72%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 255.32 points or 1.01% and South Korea's Kospi fell 34.28 points or 1.63%.
Source: The Edge
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