KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — The worsening Covid-19 cases, which led to the enforcement of conditional movement control order (CMCO) in several states in the country starting from midnight tonight, pulled the key index down by 11.92 points today.
At 5pm, benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) lost 11.92 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 1,518.43 from last Friday’s close of 1,530.35.
The market barometer opened 4.43 points easier at 1,525.92 and moved between 1,512.74 and 1,526.02 throughout the day.
Market breadth remained negative with losers leading gainers 573 to 498, while 400 counters were unchanged, 666 untraded and 34 others suspended.
Total volume dwindled to 5.97 billion units worth RM3.82 billion compared with 6.60 billion units worth RM2.89 billion last Friday.
Commenting on today’s performance, Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng said investors chose to stay on the sidelines after the announcement that the CMCO would be imposed in several states, namely Selangor, Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur and Sabah.
“They are choosing to stay on the sidelines for now to observe what will happen after the CMCO is imposed, as it might have some implications on some companies’ earnings.
“Therefore, we can see that buying interest has subsided in the local exchange,” he told Bernama.
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced today that the government will be enforcing the CMCO in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya effective from 12.01am, October 14 to Oct 27.
As for Sabah, the minister said the whole state would undergo the CMCO effective from 12.01am, October 13 until Oct 26.
Of the 30 FBM KCLI constituents, Public Bank erased 32 sen to RM15.82, Tenaga lost 20 sen to RM10.20, Sime Darby Plantation was 16 sen weaker at RM5.00, IHH slipped seven sen to RM4.99 while CIMB fell six sen to RM3.10.
Among the most actives, Advance Synergy trimmed six sen to 20.5 sen, Pasukhas Group eased 1.5 sen to six sen, Malayan United Industries gave up 2.5 sen to 11.5 sen, while JCY added 2.5 sen to 76.5 sen and XOX was flat at 12 sen.
Top losers Nestle skidded RM1.10 to RM139.10, F&N dipped 70 sen to RM32.30 and KLK was 28 sen lower at RM22.22.
Top gainers included Pharmaniaga which bagged 50 sen to RM5.19, Supermax which increased 45 sen to RM9.96 and Rubberex which added 39 sen to RM6.48.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 52.40 points to 10,968.52, the FBMT 100 Index weakened 53.92 points to 10,786.89 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 24.43 points to 13,106.30.
The FBM 70 advanced 47.66 points to 14,412.30 and the FBM ACE climbed 22.81 points to 10,579.96.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was 119.39 points lower at 12,544.98, the Plantation Index contracted 73.04 points to 7,002.18 while the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.35 of-a-point firmer at 142.32.
Main Market volume narrowed to 3.97 billion shares worth RM3.10 billion from 4.88 billion shares worth RM2.89 billion last Friday.
Warrants turnover expanded to 653.87 million units valued at RM163.37 million from 435.28 million units valued at RM91.55 million previously.
Volume on the ACE Market expanded to 1.34 billion shares worth RM552.21 million from 1.28 billion shares worth RM373.40 million last week.
Consumer products and services accounted for 1.46 billion shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (950.75 million), construction (264.21 million), technology (354.70 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (33.36 million), property (285.09 million), plantations (103.03 million), REITs (5.49 million), closed/fund (25,700), energy (186.12 million), healthcare (151.38 million), telecommunications and media (42.35 million), transportation and logistics (25.85 million), and utilities (110.27 million).
— Bernama
