KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index edged higher at the close as bargain hunting emerged following Monday’s sharp sell-off, although it narrowly failed to reclaim the 1,600 level, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 3.83 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 1,599.58 from Monday’s close of 1,595.75. The index opened 3.18 points lower at 1,592.57, marking its intraday low, and reached an intraday high of 1,602.83 in early trading. On the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 751 to 331, while 499 counters were unchanged, 1,259 untraded and 10 suspended. Turnover rose to 2.86 billion units worth RM2.42 billion against Monday’s 2.49 billion units worth RM2.38 billion.
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 28): The equity rout, which was triggered by the Covid-19 outbreak gathered steam today, especially after the overnight bloodbath on Wall Street; the Dow Jones Industrial Average has tumbled more than 2,000 points this week. A strong wave of selling has swept across Asia. Malaysia, which is currently embroiled in a political crisis, is not spared from it. The RM20 billion stimulus package that was unveiled by interim Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad did not entice any investing interest. The benchmark index FBM KLCI fell 1.52% or 22.95 points to 1,482.64 points. The fall was not as sharp as its regional peers, such as Japan's Nikkei 225, which shed 805.2 points or 3.67%, Thailand’s SET Index, which tumbled nearly 4% or 55.31 points, Singapore’s Straits Times Index, which lost 100.6 points or 3.23%. Dealers explained the fall on local bourse was not as steep mainly because of lower exposure to foreign funds given that most of them ...