KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia continued its downward trajectory in mid-afternoon trading, with the benchmark index falling below the significant 1,600 mark amid negative sentiments from regional markets, influenced by Wall Street’s performance the previous night.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the shares of companies associated with the late business tycoon Ananda Krishnan, who passed away today, also experienced declines. At 3.01 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dipped 4.87 points or 0.3 percent, settling at 1,599.38, compared to Wednesday’s closing figure of 1,604.25. The index had initially opened 2.07 points higher at 1,606.32.
The market saw more losers than gainers, with 572 counters declining against 341 gaining, while 475 remained unchanged, 1,081 were untraded, and 89 were suspended. The trading volume was recorded at 1.8 billion units worth RM1.6 billion.
Leading the decliners were heavyweight banking stocks, with CIMB dropping 10 sen to RM8.27, RHB Bank slipping 12 sen to RM6.66, P
etronas Chemicals falling six sen to RM4.67, Telekom Malaysia decreasing by 11 sen to RM6.35, and MY DIY losing 4.0 sen to RM1.81. Among Ananda Krishnan’s key holdings, Maxis fell by four sen to RM3.52, Astro decreased by half-a-sen to 22.5 sen, and Bumi Armada declined by one sen to 55.5 sen.
In the active stocks category, Genetec Technology rose by two sen to RM1.19, while Nationgate dropped 26 sen to RM2.09. Notion Vtec gained two sen to RM1.22, Microlink Solutions decreased by two sen to 9.5 sen, and YNH Property increased by one sen to 67 sen.
The index board reflected the broader market trend, with the FBM Emas Index falling 32.70 points to 12,158.27, the FBMT 100 Index losing 31.72 points to 11,855.83, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declining 11.72 points to 12,100.70. The FBM 70 Index dropped 31.78 points to 17,887.13, and the FBM ACE Index decreased by 36.93 points to 5,141.81.
In sectoral performance, the Financial Services Index decreased by 103.40 points to 19,133.44, the Energy Index fell 5.22
points to 813.47, and the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 1.16 points to 170.53. The Plantation Index, however, saw a gain of 22.43 points, reaching 7,503.73.