Malaysian Stock Market Ends Lower, CI Down 13.9 Points

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 (Bernama) – The Malaysian stock market (Bursa Malaysia) closed sharply lower Wednesday, amid mixed sentiment on regional markets, weighed down by continued selling in heavyweights and finance counters, as concerns mount over the state of the ongoing US-China trade war, dealers said. At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) closed at 1,688.14 points, down 13.98 points, against Tuesday's close of 1,702.12. The index opened 11.36 points lower at 1,690.76 at 9 am and moved between 1,680.84 and 1,691.23 throughout the day. The overall market breadth remained bearish as losers outnumbered gainers 468 to 325 while 376 counters were unchanged, 731 untraded and 25 others suspended. Total volume dropped to 2.07 billion shares worth RM1.92 billion from yesterday’s 3.32 billion shares valued at RM2.12 billion. A dealer said Asian stocks were traded mixed today over renewed concerns over the ongoing US-China trade negotiations, as the White House reportedly cancelled a planned trade meeting with Beijing this week. Back home, another dealer said investors were eagerly awaiting the central bank’s first monetary policy decision on interest rate this year, scheduled to be released tomorrow. Among heavyweights, Maybank rose three sen to RM9.54, Public Bank declined 38 sen to RM24.80, TNB shed 16 sen to RM13.54 while Petronas Chemicals fell 10 sen to RM8.42. Of actives, Bumi Armada eased half-a-sen to 21 sen, Sapura Energy perked up half-a-sen to 28.5 sen, FGV added eight sen to RM1.01 while V.S Industry was flat at 78.5 sen. -- BERNAMA