KUALA LUMPUR - Bursa Malaysia extended its downtrend in mid-afternoon trade with the benchmark index below the crucial 1,600 level as regional markets followed Wall Street’s downbeat performance overnight.
Shares of business tycoon Ananda Krishnan, who passed away today, also saw declines.
At 3.01 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 4.87 points or 0.3 per cent, to 1,599.38, from Wednesday’s close of 1,604.25.
The index opened 2.07 points higher at 1,606.32.
Losers outnumbered gainers 572 to 341 while 475 counters were unchanged, 1,081 untraded and 89 suspended.
Turnover amounted to 1.8 billion units valued at RM1.6 billion.
Heavyweight banking stocks led the decliners, with CIMB losing 10 sen to RM8.27 and RHB Bank easing 12 sen to RM6.66, while Petronas Chemicals dropped six sen to RM4.67, Telekom Malaysia was 11 sen weaker at RM6.35 and MY DIY lost 4.0 sen to RM1.81.
Maxis, in which Ananda owns a controlling stake, was four sen lower at RM3.52, while Astro slid half-a-sen to 22.5 sen and Bumi Armada slipped one sen to 55.5 sen.
Among the active stocks, Genetec Technology added two sen to RM1.19, Nationgate fell 26 sen to RM2.09, Notion Vtec gained two sen to RM1.22, Microlink Solutions slipped two sen to 9.5 sen, and YNH Property was one sen higher at 67 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 32.70 points to 12,158.27, the FBMT 100 Index fell 31.72 points to 11,855.83, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 11.72 points to 12,100.70.
The FBM 70 Index lost 31.78 points to 17,887.13 and the FBM ACE Index gave up 36.93 points to 5,141.81.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index fell 103.40 points to 19,133.44, the Energy Index dipped 5.22 points to 813.47, and the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 1.16 points to 170.53.
The Plantation Index gained 22.43 points to 7,503.73. - BERNAMA