Bursa Malaysia falls 0.55pc as banking heavyweights drag down key index

Detailed summary

Bursa Malaysia’s key index extended its decline to close lower on Wednesday as persistent selling weighed on banking heavyweights, said an analyst.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — Bursa Malaysia’s key index extended its decline to close lower on Wednesday as persistent selling weighed on banking heavyweights, said an analyst.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 8.88 points or 0.55 per cent to 1,595.19 from yesterday’s close of 1,604.07.

The benchmark index opened 2.02 points lower at 1,602.05 and fluctuated between an intraday low of 1,588.75 and a high of 1,602.54 throughout the day.

However, market breadth was positive, with gainers outnumbering losers 686 to 427. Another 474 counters were unchanged, 1,187 were untraded and 12 suspended.

Turnover climbed to 2.90 billion units valued at RM2.33 billion compared with yesterday’s 2.79 billion units valued at RM2.77 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said financial blue-chip stocks dragged the FBM KLCI lower amid concerns over rising US bond yields which stood at 4.99 per cent.

“The US 10-year Treasury yield subsequently climbed towards 5.0 per cent, potentially weighing on emerging market sentiment,” he told Bernama.

Nevertheless, he said buying interest shifted towards technology, energy, industrial and construction stocks, suggesting that investors remained selective despite the cautious sentiment.

Meanwhile, IPPFA director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the key index closed lower as stronger-than-expected US inflation reinforced expectations of a higher-for-longer Federal Reserve policy stance, prompting investors to reassess global risk exposure.

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