Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 12): The FBM KLCI fell for the eighth day running this morning, amid frail regional sentiment.

At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI shed 1.36 points to 1,707.13.

The decliners included Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, ViTrox Corp Bhd, Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd, Scientex Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, Bursa Malaysia Bhd and Globetronics Technology Bhd.

Asian shares appeared tentative on Friday, holding steady after a nine-day losing streak, but sentiment was frail after Wall Street shares crumbled and expectations of market volatility shot up to an eight-month high, according to Reuters.

Worries about the economic impact of a Sino-US trade war, a spike in US bond yields this week and caution ahead of earnings seasons are all cited as potential reasons behind the selloff, the biggest market rout since February, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research in a traders’ brief said investors may persist with the selling activities as long as the Fed is having a hawkish outlook on the interest rate, which may translate into higher borrowing costs for corporates in the US.

“Also, the unsettled trade developments could pose further downside risk to the stock markets.

“On the local front, stocks are likely to extend the selling tone with renewed selling interest on Wall Street and we think oil and gas stocks could face selling activities on the back of the declining crude oil prices.

“However, investors could be looking into defensive stocks within the high yield counters under this weak market environment.

“Also, based on the hammer candle that has formed yesterday, the FBM KLCI could be due for mild technical rebound,” it said.

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