KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended in the red today on weaker demand as traders track the bearish sentiment in regional stock markets, amid the sharp losses on Wall Street overnight.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) finished 6.31 points lower at 1,635.31 from Monday’s close of 1,641.62.
After opening 13.15 points weaker at 1,628.47, the index moved between 1,626.93 and 1,643.88 throughout the day.
A dealer said growing concerns over the global growth outlook pushed US stocks sharply lower for the second consecutive day, coupled with recent gloomy data releases in China and the eurozone.
Furthermore, he said investors turned cautious ahead of the outcome of the two-day US Federal Open Market Committee meeting, starting today.
“Some bargain hunting emerged at the eleventh hour today in telecommunications and banking stocks, however, the FBM KLCI struggled to remain in the positive territory,” he added.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 2.1 per cent at 2,545, its lowest finish since October 9, 2017, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also ended 2.1 per cent lower and the Nasdaq Composite shed 2.2 per cent.
Among regional stocks, Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 1.90 per cent tot 3,055.07, Jakarta Composite Index declined 0.12 per cent to 6,081.87 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was 1.05 per cent weaker at 25,814.25.
Market breadth on Bursa Malaysia was negative with 700 losers and 222 gainers, while 292 counters remained unchanged, 691 untraded and 24 others suspended.
Total volume increased to 2.26 billion units worth RM1.90 billion from 1.46 billion units worth RM1.17 billion on Monday.
Among heavyweights, Maybank fell eight sen to RM9.22, Public Bank gained four sen to RM24.26, Tenaga declined 22 sen to RM12.70 and Petronas Chemicals lost three sen to RM9.15.
Of actives, VS Industry shed 16.5 sen to 65.5 sen, Bumi Armada gave up half-a-sen to 15.5 sen and MYEG lost six sen to 81.5 sen.