KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): The FBM KLCI erased a portion of gains it made in the previous day (Thursday) to end 0.41% lower today, due to worries over the US-China trade dispute, as investors question the two nations' ability to reach a trade deal before the next round of tariffs kick in.
At 5pm, the benchmark index was down 6.87 points or 0.41% to close at 1,686.52 points, partly offsetting the 9.8-point rebound it recorded in the previous day.
Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) said the KLCI is likely to engage in an extended consolidation with key supports seen near 1,676 points and 1,666 points.
It is of the view that while the US Federal Reserve's dovish stance and improving technical readings could spur the KLCI towards the 1,700 to 1,705 levels, the slide in US markets and the uncertainty of the upcoming corporate earnings season could cap further upside.
“Overall, we expect an extended range bound mode until further clarity from the US-China meeting next week,” the research house said.
Trading activity at Bursa Malaysia picked up today with some 2.48 billion shares traded, valued at RM1.72 billion. Despite KLCI's slide, market breadth remained positive, as gainers outnumbered decliners at 399 versus 290, while 409 counters stayed unchanged.
Leading the decliners were British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd, while gainers were led by Time dotCom Bhd.
The most actively-traded stock was Sapura Energy Bhd, which gained 1.5 sen to 28 sen, after 467.33 million shares were traded.
Asian stocks were also largely down: Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.01%, South Korea’s Kospi declined 1.2%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.16%.
Reuters reported Asian stocks lost ground on Friday, as investors worried about a broadening global economic slowdown, with sentiment not helped by the absence of any positive sign for a resolution in the US-China trade row.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.5%, easing back from a four-month peak touched the previous day. The index was down 0.1% on the week, it said.