KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 29): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower on continued selling activities, as investors remained on the sidelines due to the cautious domestic and global economic outlook, dealers said.
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At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 5.68 points to 1,541.14 from Tuesday’s close of 1,546.82.
The index, which opened 4.86 points lower at 1,541.96, moved between 1,528.69 and 1,542.05 throughout the session.
Market breadth remained negative with losers outpacing gainers 618 to 272, while 409 counters were unchanged, 1,005 untraded and 85 others suspended.
Turnover stood at two billion units worth RM1.38 billion.
A dealer said investors’ sentiment turned cautious over the World Bank’s move to revise Malaysia’s 2021 economic growth projection downwards to 3.3% from 4.5% forecasted in June.
In a statement on Tuesday, the World Bank said the ongoing Movement Control Orders, increased precautionary behaviour and subdued labour market conditions were expected to weigh down further on private consumption and overall economic growth, especially for service-related sectors which had been heavily impacted by movement restrictions.
Meanwhile, another dealer said Asian markets were on a downtrend following the fall in global shares for the third day in a row on Tuesday, as concerns over central banks’ potential interest rate hikes led to rising bond yields on both sides of the Atlantic.
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“United States Treasury extended its sell-off into the fourth day with the 10-year yield reaching a level last seen in mid-June.
“The prospect of rising cash rates and the risk of inflation being less transitory than expected took the two-year yields to an 18-month high,” he said.
Back home, heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd fell two sen to RM8.08, Public Bank Bhd slipped one sen to RM4.10, IHH Healthcare Bhd went down four sen to RM6.66, while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd jumped 10 sen to RM8.75 and Tenaga Nasional Bhd gained nine sen to RM9.77.
Of the actives, CEKD Bhd advanced nine sen to 57 sen, Encorp Bhd increased three sen to 62.5 sen, Hiap Teck Venture Bhd rose 1.5 sen to 57 sen while Dagang NeXchange Bhd shed 2.5 sen to 78 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index lost 35.93 points to 11,295.9, the FBMT 100 Index was 35.51 points easier at 10,993.48, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dipped 52.17 points to 12,323.11.
The FBM 70 slipped 28.65 points to 14,929.09 and the FBM ACE contracted 35.72 points to 7,150.36.
Sector wise, the Plantation Index added 6.72 points to 6,342.28, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.55 of-a-point to 204.64, and the Financial Services Index improved 6.82 points to 15,237.85. -BERNAMA -The Edge Markets