REGIONAL markets traded mostly lower yesterday, tracking overnight losses in US markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.85% to close at 17,662.94 while the S&P 500 fell 1.7% to 2,044.16.  

While bellwether indices in Hong Kong, Australia, and Jakarta lost between 0.53% and 0.79%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index and Japan’s Nikkei 225 bucked the trend to close 0.15% and 0.31% higher respectively.

On the other hand, indices in Europe gained in early trade, with France’s CAC 40 climbing 1.48% to 4,954.12, at the time of writing. The German DAX was also trading 1.23% higher at 11,642.32.

Crude oil prices fell as the US dollar strengthened. The Brent crude and WTI crude futures were trading around $56 per barrel and $48 per barrel, respectively. Meanwhile, the ringgit weakened further against the greenback at RM3.70, its lowest in six years.

Closer to home, the benchmark FBM KLCI slid 0.65% to 1,778.16. Market breadth was negative with decliners outpacing gainers by around 1.6 to 1.

I bought 6,000 shares in Sunsuria at RM1.64 per share yesterday.

I also disposed of my entire stake in Flonic at 6.5 sen per share. 

My portfolio now has a total value of RM100,086 and is up 0.1% since inception. It has outperformed the FBM KLCI by 6.1%.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 12, 2015.