FBM KLCI slides below 1,700 points to 16-month low

PETALING JAYA: The local stock market's benchmark index slipped below the 1,700-point phychological level today as investors were spooked by continued uncertainy in the trade spat between the US and China.
The FBM KLCI sank as much as 27.86 points or 1.63% to 1,681.89 points, its lowest level since January 2017. At the close of trading, it was down by 17.43 points or 1.02% to 1,692.32 points. A total of 2.13 billion shares were traded valued at RM2.68 billion. Market breadth was negative with losers outpacing gainers by 748 to 199.
The broader market was mainly dragged down by banking and telco stocks. Among the top losers were Hong Leong Bank, Telekom Malaysia, Hong Leong Financial Group and Public Bank, which fell 56 sen, 49 sen, 42 sen and 16 sen to RM17.90, RM3.14, RM17.90 and RM22.62, respectively.
Elsewhere in the region, the China and Hong Kong markets continued to see heavy selling pressure. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.35% and the Shanghai composite index lost 1.37%.
In currencies, the ringgit was also weaker today, depreciating as much as 0.3% to 4.0162 against the US dollar. As at 5pm, it was trading at 4.0150.
Maybank Kim Eng, the investment arm of Maybank Group, said at its Invest Asia UK conference yesterday that Asia's underlying fundamentals remain solid with resilient growth prospects despite headwinds from US-China trade friction and rising US interest rates.
Its CEO Datuk John Chong said investors should look beyond the short-term noise and focus on the region's long-term growth prospects. "While there have been substantial capital outflows as a result of the stronger US dollar, higher interest rates and US-China trade friction, Asia is now better positioned to weather the volatility."
Chong noted that countries in the region have largely strengthened their current account balances, increased their foreign reserves and kept inflation in check over the past five years.
"Stronger private and infrastructure investments as well as a rising middle class are significant growth thrusts going forward. We believe investors will see real value emerging in Asian corporates after the recent market tantrums and should capitalise on the opportunity."
For Malaysia, Chong said the government's commitment to adopt fiscal reforms and narrow the fiscal deficit bodes well for the country's economy.
Following the recent market correction, he said the FBM KLCI is now priced attractively at 15.4 times on 12 months forward earnings as of June 19."This puts it at the lower end of its trading range of 15.4x to 17.3x over the past three years."