KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 26): Shares of British American Tobacco (M) Bhd (BAT) extended last week's decline to fall to its 12-year low today, alongside a wider market decline on the escalation of the US-China trade war over the weekend.

At 11.17am, the tobacco manufacturer was down 50 sen or 2.37% at RM20.60, surpassing the decline seen in mid-2018 when the share price was hit by concerns on prevailing illicit market situation.

The current share price is BAT's lowest since July 30, 2007, when it hit RM20.58.

Bloomberg data shows that at the current share price, the counter represents a historical 12-month dividend yield of around 6.9%. It gave out 56 sen in dividend per share in the first half of FY19.

Meanwhile, car manufacturer DRB-Hicom Bhd erased its two-week gain after falling as much as 9.83%. The counter hit its 19-year high of RM2.95 just last Friday.

At 11.17am, its shares were trading at RM2.64, down 31 sen or 10.51%, halting a rally seen since May this year. DRB-Hicom holds 50.1% in Proton Holdings Bhd, with the remaining 49.9% held by China-based Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.

Meanwhile, the FBM KLCI was down 1.06% at press time. The jittery market today was largely a result of the escalation of the US-China trade war against a backdrop of battered regional markets.

On Friday, the world's biggest economy bumped existing tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% from 25% and planned duties to 15% from 10%, following which China indicated it will follow through with tariffs on US$75 billion of US goods.