Bursa extends Wednesday's losses to close lower
Published on: Friday, May 25, 2018
Kuala Lumpur: Bursa Malaysia extended its losses to close lower Thursday, on continued selling pressure in heavyweight counters due to emerging concerns over the country's debt level, dealers said.The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) closed at 1,775.66, erasing 28.59 points from Wednesday's 1,804.25, The index opened 4.07 points higher at 1,808.32 and moved between 1,768.18 and 1,809.90 throughout the day.
ADVERTISEMENT
A dealer said the current debt level, exceeding RM1 trillion, may affect the confidence of local and foreign investors in the local bourse.However, he said the government's aim now was to cut the national debt, which currently stood at about 65 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product by aborting and reviewing mega projects, as well as, cutting ministers' salaries in a move to restore confidence among investors, moving forward.On the regional front, another dealer said most Asian stocks retreated due to renewed concern over the US-China trade talks.Among heavyweights, Maybank was 42 sen weaker at RM10.26, TNB lost 18 sen to RM14.76, Public Bank declined 74 sen to RM24.36, CIMB shed 17 sen to RM6.05 and IHH Healthcare eased 14 sen to RM6.18.
ADVERTISEMENT
Among actives, Sapura Energy fell 2.5 sen to 69 sen, MyEG slipped 12 sen to 79.5 sen, Hibiscus Petroleum eased half-a-sen to 95 sen while Eduspec was flat at seven sen and Priceworth International rose two sen to 24 sen.Market breadth was negative with losers trouncing gainers 752 to 235, with 375 counters unchanged, 542 untraded and 22 others were suspended.
ADVERTISEMENT
Volume increased to 2.87 billion units, valued at RM3.86 billion from Wednesday's 2.69 billion units valued at RM3.34 billion.The FBM Emas Index decreased 184.10 points to 12,395.96, the FBM Ace lost 68.99 points to 5,152.07 and the FBMT 100 Index went down 184.81 points to 12,197.96.The FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 113.03 points to 12,467.95 and the FBM 70 dipped 182.23 points to 14,654.83.Sector-wise, the Finance Index dropped 422.31 points to 17,722.89, the Industrial Index eased 33.92 points to 3,197.95 while the Plantation Index declined 43.89 points to 7,837.53.Main Market volume improved to 1.80 billion shares, worth RM3.69 billion, from Wednesday's 1.58 billion shares worth RM3.16 billion.Warrants volume rose to 812.43 million units, valued at RM127.46 million, from 784.23 million units, worth at RM121.32 million.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
