KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 24): The main index at Bursa Malaysia pared some of its gains at the midday break Thursday as crude palm oil prices slipped below the RM3,000 per tonne mark.

The plantation index shed 0.6%, while plantation stocks retreated in tandem.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up 4.99 points at 1,501.47. The index had earlier risen to a high of 1,502.44.

The broader market sentiment was tepid with 413 losers and 224 gainers, while 668 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was 3.12 billion shares worth RM2.21 billion.

The top gainers included Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Top Glove Corp Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd, Careplus Group Bhd, Rubberex Corp Bhd, Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd, Comfort Gloves Bhd and Ajinomoto (M) Bhd.

The actively traded stocks included Advance Synergy Bhd, Metronic Global Bhd, Kanger International Bhd, Permaju Industries Bhd, Lambo Group Bhd, Parkson Holdings Bhd and Top Glove.

The decliners included Nestle (M) Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, Batu Kawan Bhd and Yinson Holdings Bhd.

Reuters said Asian shares fell on Thursday following a slump on Wall Street overnight, as a series of warnings from US Federal Reserve officials underscored investor worries over the resilience of the economic recovery.

US Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida said on Wednesday that the US economy remains in a "deep hole" of joblessness and weak demand, and called for more fiscal stimulus, noting that policymakers "are not even going to begin thinking" about raising interest rates until inflation hits 2%, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said while the announcement of a RM10 billion Kita Prihatin package is timely to cushion the fallout of the weak economy, it continued to err on the side of caution given the bearish sentiment on Wall Street and nagging domestic headwinds such as heightened political uncertainty ahead of the Sabah polls on Sept 26 after opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he now has enough support in parliament to form a new government, further liquidity squeeze on stock market amid the expiry of the six-month grace period for loan repayments by end-September, review on Malaysia’s position in the World Government Bond Index (WGBI) on Sept 24 (a potential exclusion may dampen further the fragile market sentiment due to a selldown in the bond market and weakened ringgit), concern over the government’s major source of income following Petronas sluggish 1HFY20 results, and rising new Covid-19 cases and clusters in Malaysia.

“Nevertheless, potential 3Q20 window dressing activities in the next few days may cushion further slide with major supports pegged at 1,484-1,470-1,461 whilst key resistances are situated at 1,503-1,521-1,535 zones,” it said.