Bursa Malaysia closed at an intra-day low of 1,804.25 amid global and domestic uncertainties.
Confirmation by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng that Malaysia’s debt had exceeded RM1 trillion sparked concerns among investors.
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed at an intra-day low of 1,804.25, giving up 40.78 points from Tuesday’s 1,845.03, pressured by heavy selling in most heavyweights.
Renewed concerns emerged over global and domestic uncertainties, dealers said.
The index opened 1.63 points weaker at 1,843.40 and subsequently succumbed to heavy offloading of stocks.
Hermana Capital Bhd Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer Datuk Dr Nazri Khan Adam Khan said the confirmation by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng that Malaysia’s debt had exceeded RM1 trillion sparked concerns among investors.
“The debt is bigger than what we expected. From around 54 per cent of GDP to more than 65 per cent of GDP (at more than RM1 trillion),” he told Bernama today.
However, Nazri remained optimistic of the local bourse, due to the country’s fundamentals and oil prices, which were expected to lend support.
“Investors may over react a bit (from the news). I am optimistic that the Council of Eminent Persons established by the government can manage the economy, as well as the government’s promise to review all mega projects and adopt cost cutting measures,” he added.
On the global front, another dealer said the market was hurt by US President Donald Trump’s comment that he was “not satisfied” with the latest round of trade talks with China, sparking worries among investors of a possible trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
However, he said, Trump had also called on both parties to “start” working out the US trade imbalance with China.
Among heavyweights, Maybank was 20 sen weaker at RM10.68, TNB lost 40 sen to RM14.94, Public Bank declined 10 sen to RM25.10, CIMB shed 43 sen to RM6.22 and IHH Healthcare went down one sen to RM6.32.
Among actives, Sapura Energy fell 4.5 sen to 71.5 sen, MyEG slipped two sen to 91.5 sen, AirAsia X eased half-a-sen to 37.5 sen, NETX was flat at three sen, while DRB-Hicom rose 28 sen to RM2.03.
Market breadth was negative with losers trouncing gainers 763 to 237, with 365 counters unchanged, 543 untraded and 20 others suspended.
Volume increased to 2.69 billion units valued at RM3.34 billion from Tuesday’s 2.35 billion units valued at RM2.74 billion.
Source: NST Online