Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 7): The FBM KLCI extended losses at midday, declining 0.87% on losses in blue chips such as British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd and Petronas Gas Bhd, while the ringgit continues to weaken against the greenback.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark index fell 14.78 points or 0.87% to 1,679.86.

In a note today, BIMB Securities Research expects the KLCI to be bearish in the near term after yesterday’s 30-point decline following major profit taking by foreign investors, as the ringgit weakened further against the greenback.

“We expect the market to continue its bearish trend lower on unfavourable sentiment with immediate support at 1,680,” said the research house.

According to Bloomberg, the ringgit weakened to 3.9235 against the US dollar.

Bursa Malaysia saw some 1.15 billion shares worth RM882 million traded. Market sentiment was bearish as decliners widely outnumbered gainers at 750 against 108, while 203 counters were unchanged.

Top decliners included British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd, DanaInfra Nasional Bhd and TAHPS Group Bhd, while United Plantations Bhd led the top gainers. The most actively traded stock was Xinghe Holdings Bhd.

Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.24%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.94%.

Reuters said Asian shares got off on the back foot on Friday, on track for a weekly loss, following Wall Street lower as caution reigned ahead of US employment data that may help determine whether the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates as early as next month.

 

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