KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): The FBM KLCI closed 10.91 points or 0.72% lower at 1,512.53 today, as most component stocks succumbed to selling pressure as the country reports higher Covid-19 cases.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior research analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com that investors’ sentiment has been dented by the surge in the number of daily Covid-19 infections. The local bourse's lacklustre performance today also mirrored the weak regional markets’ performance, he said.

The overall market was broadly lower, with losers beating gainers at 700 vs 343. A total of 4.82 billion shares worth RM2.74 billion were traded.

All Bursa Malaysia's indices closed lower, with the Healthcare index hit the most after the gauge dropped 2.01% to settle at 2,858.06. This was followed by the Telecommunications and Media index, which fell 1.51% to end at 690.15, and the FBM ACE, which slipped 1.34% to close at 7,323.50.

Heavyweight counters that declined included Hartalega Holdings Bhd (down 31 sen or 4.03% to RM7.39), MISC Bhd (fell 18 sen or 2.62% to RM6.68) and Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd (dropped 17 sen or 2.16% to RM7.71).

Other notable losers on the bourse today included Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Heineken (M) Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd and Chin Teck Plantations Bhd.

Genetec Technology Bhd, Sam Engineering & Equipment (M) Bhd and KESM Industries Bhd were among the day's top gainers by value.

The most actively traded stocks were Kanger International Bhd, SMTrack Bhd, PUC Bhd, MAG Holdings Bhd, Dagang NeXchange Bhd, Careplus Group Bhd, BCM Alliance Bhd and Saudee Group Bhd.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index fell 2.34% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 4.13%; Seoul's Kospi dropped 0.91%.

Reuters reported that Asian shares skidded to seven-month lows on Monday as regulation concerns upended Chinese equities and strong US corporate earnings sucked funds out of emerging markets into Wall Street.