KUALA LUMPUR (March 12): The FBM KLCI pared some of its loss at mid-morning but broader market sentiment was negative in line with the global equity rout.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI was down 14.17 points to 1,429.66. The index had earlier slumped to a low of 1,425.63.

Market breadth was negative as losers thumped gainers by 640 to 133, while 143 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 857.03 million shares valued at RM534.36 million.

The losers included Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, ViTrox Corp Bhd, KESM Industries Bhd, Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bdh and SAM Engineering & Equipment (M) Bhd.

The actives included JAKS Resources Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, Vortex Consolidated Bhd, Careplus Group Bhd, Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd and Sapura Energy Bhd.

The gainers included Top Glove Corp Bhd and Malaysia-listed Hang Seng Index-linked put warrants.

Reuters said global shares were set for a rocky ride on Thursday as investors tally the economic damage of coronavirus, a day after the US Dow Jones industrials entered bear market territory and world health officials declared the virus a pandemic.

Markets desperate for government action to offset the impacts of the global outbreak will look to an address by US President Donald Trump scheduled for 9pm EDT (0100 GMT), it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said that in the US, market participants are likely to stay on a negative bias for now given the worsening situation of Covid-19 in regions outside of China.

“Also, the lack of details and timeline of the stimulus measure from [the] White House could dampen the trading tone. Hence, we believe the upside would be limited on Wall Street and the Dow’s upside will be capped around 25,500, with a support located around 22,500.

“Taking cues from the negative performance on overnight Wall Street, coupled with the declaration [by WHO that] Covid-19 [is] a pandemic, we believe selling pressure could resume on the local exchange.

“Nevertheless, we opine selected sectors such as healthcare related will benefit under this environment. Traders may look out for gloves, sanitizer and masks related stocks for opportunities,” it said.