KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 31): The FBM KLCI lost its footing on the last trading day of 2019. The benchmark index shed 26.91 points or 1.67% to end the year at its intraday low at 1,588.76, after US shares' overnight decline hit Asian market sentiment.
 
For the year, the KLCI had declined 6.02% or 101.82 points, making it the third-largest percentage decliner among benchmark indices in Asia, after the Laos Securities Exchange Composite and Mongolia Stock Exchange Top 20.

Asia's worst decliner Laos Securities Exchange Composite fell 12.95%, followed by the Mongolia Stock Exchange Top 20's 8.59% drop.

Over the last 10 years, the KLCI had however gained 315.98 points or 24.83% from 1,272.78 on Dec 31, 2009.

In Malaysia today, Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng said weakness in the KLCI today was due to US shares' overnight decline, which affected sentiment across Asian stock markets today.

Reuters reported Asian shares slipped on the last trading day of the decade, echoing falls on Wall Street, as investors locked in gains made since the US and China reached a preliminary trade deal earlier this month.

Today, Wong told theedgemarkets.com: "KLCI was down 6.02% year-to-date, mainly due to the foreign selling amid global and domestic uncertainties."

Across Bursa Malaysia, there were 552 decliners versus 314 gainers. Turnover stood at 2.25 billion shares, worth RM1.75 billion.

Top decliners included KLCI stocks Public Bank Bhd, PPB Group Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd.