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 (Dec 5): The FBM KLCI joined other Asian stock indices in tracking losses on Wall Street yesterday amid plunging US Treasury yields and continued uncertainties over the US-China trade dispute.
The benchmark index closed down 6.72 points or 0.4% at 1,688.27. It was mostly dragged by telco stocks, namely Maxis Bhd, Axiata Group Bhd and DiGi.com Bhd.
“The decline was mostly influenced by external factors today,” said Vincent Khoo, head of research at UOB Kay Hian.
Across Bursa Malaysia, 519 declining counters outpaced the 251 stocks that recorded gains.
The most actively traded stocks were Bumi Armada Bhd, Techbond Group Bhd and Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd.
Volume was weak, however, with a total of 1.75 billion shares traded with a total value of RM1.52 billion.
Across Asia, stocks followed their American counterparts, which were down as the spread between two- and 10-year Treasury yields were at their flattest level in over a decade, according to Reuters.
Trade tensions have also re-emerged as negotiations begin between the US and China to reach an agreement.
“MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.5%. The Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.6% and Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.5%,” Reuters reported.
Source: The Edge
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