KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 14): The FBM KLCI fell 0.46% at the midday break today, while sentiment turned bearish, in line with the slump at regional markets, amidst reports of blasts and gunfight at the Indonesian capital Jakarta.
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI fell 7.59 points to 1,634.96.
Losers hammered gainers by 663 to 157, while 274 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.17 billion shares valued at RM949.20 million.
The top losers included Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, Top Glove Corporation Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Panasonic Malaysia Manufacturing Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, Chin Teck Plantations Bhd, Globetronics Technology Bhd and Ajiya Bhd.
The actively-traded stocks included PUC Founder Bhd, ES Ceramics Technologies Bhd, Tiger Synergy Bhd, Sanichi Technology Bhd and AirAsia X Bhd.
The gainers included Time Dotcom Bhd, Concrete Engineering Products Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd and Mercury Industries Bhd.
Asian shares skidded on Thursday in the wake of steep losses on Wall Street, while a rout in oil and commodities prices, with crude plumbing 12-year lows, heightened fears about the global economy, according to Reuters.
U.S. crude prices were were last down slightly at US$30.47 a barrel, not far from Tuesday's nadir of US$29.93, which was their lowest level since December 2003, it said.
AffinHwang Capital Research said bearish sentiments from China’s sell-offs, Yuan devaluation and tension in the middle east may drag our local market lower.
“Weak ringgit, sliding oil price and continuous strengths of US dollar, pose negative catalysts for local market.
“The FBMKLCI continues to consolidate, mainly due to external factors,” it said.
(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)