Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the regional equities market was mostly in the red today.
He said the anticipation for the US rate cut in March received a backlash as a Federal Reserve official seemed to be reluctant to enact monetary easing in the near-term.
“Meanwhile, China’s 2023 GDP growth came in at 5.2% compared to 3% posted in 2022, and within the government forecast of around 5%.
“However, the slump in its property market suggests that China’s authority needs to do more to stimulate its economy,” he told Bernama.
Afzanizam also noted that the ongoing military conflict in the Red Sea could potentially affect the global supply chain, which could result in the disruption to timely deliveries of goods which to some degree can be deemed inflationary as it can raise the cost of doing business.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.66 points to 1,491.21 from yesterday’s close of 1,493.87.
The FBM KLCI opened 1.98 points easier at 1,491.89 and moved between 1,487.52 and 1,494.32 during the trading session.
On the broader market, decliners thumped gainers 832 to 265, while 385 counters were unchanged, 761 untraded, and 18 others suspended.
Turnover decreased to 5.23 billion units worth RM3.17 billion from 5.84 billion units worth RM3.59 billion yesterday.
Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 inched down 0.4% to 35,477.75, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 3.71% to 15,276.90, Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index lost 2.09% to 2,833.62, Singapore’s Straits Times Index dipped 1.19% to 3,147.06, and South Korea’s Kospi fell 2.47% to 2,435.90.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Public Bank slid 1 sen each to RM9.05 and RM4.35, respectively, Tenaga Nasional eased 2 sen to RM10.44, Petronas Chemicals fell 12 sen to RM6.76, and CIMB gained 2 sen to RM6.03.
Of the actives, Leform declined 9.5 sen to 17.5 sen, Sarawak Consolidated lost 30 sen to 53.5 sen and Mercury Securities slipped 29.5 sen to 45.5 sen.
Minetech gained 1.5 sen to 17 sen while Ekovest was unchanged at 56 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index lost 40.83 points to 11,102.83, the FBM 70 Index tumbled 98.13 points to 15,043.76, the FBMT 100 Index declined 32.19 points to 10,760.80, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 67.35 to 11,191.06, and the FBM ACE Index dropped 150.16 points to 5,047.77.
Sector-wise, the financial services index sank 35.46 points to 16,635.13, the property index was down 7.88 points to 888.36, the industrial products and services index dipped 3.14 points to 173.36, the energy index slipped 8.88 points to 849.93, while the plantation index rose 8.56 points to 7,172.57.
The Main Market volume fell to 3.32 billion units valued at RM2.73 billion from 3.9 billion units valued at RM3.12 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover dwindled to 584.38 million units worth RM66.07 million from 779.86 million units worth RM104.12 million previously.
The ACE Market volume increased to 1.41 billion shares valued at RM370.4 million versus 1.15 million shares valued at RM366.67 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 427.55 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (1.05 billion); construction (336.23 million); technology (252.15 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (118.42 million); property (404.92 million); plantation (16.73 million); REITs (17.39 million), closed/fund (39,000); energy (180.18 million); healthcare (132.57 million); telecommunications and media (83.23 million); transportation and logistics (63.56 million); and utilities (141.88 million).