Bursa Malaysia ends lower

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended lower today in tandem with most regional peers amid negative sentiment and worries brought about by North Korea's nuclear test over the weekend, dealers said.
At close, the key FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 3.53 points lower at 1,769.63 after moving between 1,766.05 and 1,785.69 throughout the day.
It opened 12.53 points higher at 1,785.69 from last Wednesday's close of 1,773.16.
Market breadth was negative with losers outpacing gainers 596 to 364 with 288 counters unchanged, 586 untraded and 21 others suspended.
Volume rose to 2.53 billion units worth RM2.18 billion from 1.83 billion units valued at RM2.21 billion recorded last Wednesday.
A dealer said most Asian stocks extended their losses from the previous session, spooked by a North Korean nuclear test over the weekend which sparked fears of regional instability.
On the local front, Bursa Malaysia, which bucked regional trend by opening higher, later slipped into a downward bias following the event, weighed down by selling in heavyweight stocks led by the finance sector.
Regionally, the Singapore Straits Times index gained 0.62% to 3,250.84, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat at 27,741.35, South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.13% to 2,326.62 and Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.63% to 19,385.81.
Among heavyweights, Maybank eased four sen to RM9.42, CIMB Group fell 32 sen to RM6.76, Tenaga added 10 sen to RM14.38, while Public Bank and Sime Darby were flat at RM20.60 and RM9, respectively.
Of actives, Sino Hua-an added 5.5 sen to 21 sen, China Stationery improved three sen to seven sen, Palette Multimedia gained five sen to 20 sen and Anzo Holdings up one sen to 11 sen.
The FBM Emas Index was down 16.76 points to 12,593.31, the FBMT 100 Index slipped 13.38 points to 12,268.28 and the FBM Ace slipped 35.93 points to 6,576.81.
The FBM Emas Syariah Index gained 43.36 points to 12,792.45 and the FBM 70 rose 25.48 points to 15,085.32.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index was 1.75 points higher at 7,850.21, the Industrial Index eased 2.25 points to 3,198.89 and the Finance Index dropped 174.77 points to 16,597.54.
The Main Market volume increased to 1.67 billion shares worth RM2.03 billion from 1.25 billion shares worth RM2.10 billion recorded last Wednesday.
Volume on the ACE Market improved to 672 million units valued at RM123.32 million versus last Wednesday's 424.62 million units valued at RM87 million.
Warrants increased to 155.24 million shares worth RM21.58 million from 148.80 million shares worth RM18.36 million previously.
Consumer products accounted for 317.73 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products (607.45 million), construction (90.66 million), trade and services (352.26 million), technology (66.16 million), infrastructure (8.50 million), SPAC (17.95 million), finance (68.66 million), hotels (220,700), properties (112.55 million), plantations (22.54 million), mining (772,800), REITs (8.92 million) and closed/fund (nil).
The physical price of gold as at 5pm stood at RM176.43 per gramme, up RM2.40 from RM174.03 at 5pm last Wednesday. — Bernama