Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (April 24): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas)-controlled shipping company MISC Bhd, which sank as much as 8.77% in afternoon trades today, is among the top 10 losing counters on the local stock exchange.

The stock, which recouped some losses at market close to settle at RM7.80 — still down 18 sen or 2.3% — were dragged by the overall negative sentiment weighing on the market, following the government's announcement of a further extension to the Movement Control Order (MCO) yesterday. 

“The decline [seen in MISC] is line with the broader market, which is seeing negative sentiment,” Rakuten Trade Research vice-president Vincent Lau told theedgemarkets.com today.

At its current price, MISC, which was listed as the 8th biggest loser on the local bourse today, has a market capitalisation of RM34.82 billion. The stock began the trading day at RM7.96 and broadly stayed at around that level before plunging to an intraday low of RM7.28 at around 3.45pm.

Oil prices, which sank to sub-zero levels earlier this week, also continue to be a dampener on the market. At the time of writing, Reuters reported that oil prices were headed for their third weekly loss, as production shutdowns failed to keep pace with sliding demand due to the pandemic sweeping the world.

Brent crude was down 73 cents or 3.42% at US$20.60, while US oil fell 84 cents or 5.09% to US$15.66 a barrel. "Prices are heading for their eighth weekly loss in the last nine with Brent on course for a 27% loss this week and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) set for a fall of around 14%," it noted.

Other Petronas-linked counters that were in the red today include Petronas Dagangan Bhd, which lost 50 sen or 2.4% to settle at RM20.30 and was Bursa's fourth-biggest decliner today, and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, which retreated 12 sen or 2.2% to close at RM5.27.

These two, together with MISC, were among the biggest losers dragging the KLCI today, which lost 0.85% to close at 1,369.85.

Down by nearly 7% since the start of this year, MISC is nevertheless trading at about 15% higher than it was a year ago.

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