The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 9.26 points to finish the day at 1,564.76 from yesterday’s close of 1,574.02.

The market bellwether, which opened 2.26 points easier at 1,571.76, fluctuated between 1,564.54 and 1,573.66 throughout the session.

On the broader market, losers hammered gainers 715 to 298, while 442 counters were unchanged, 750 untraded, and 17 others suspended.

Turnover declined to 5.22 billion units valued at RM2.78 billion today from 5.9 billion units worth RM3.08 billion yesterday.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said the FBM KLCI index dropped 0.6% today with rubber glove constituents such as Top Glove and Hartalega declining the most to the tune of 4.3% and 2.4% respectively during the day.

He said the drop in rubber glove counters coincided with the daily vaccination doses administered in Malaysia, which reached 250,529 on June 22, while the daily number of Covid-19 cases remained high, at 5,244 cases today.

“The daily decline in the local bourse was also despite the reassurance from the United States Federal Reserve that the benchmark rates will not rise that quickly.

“Perhaps fears from the pandemic in the country are still causing investors to invest in markets that are more stable in terms of Covid-19 infection rates,” he told Bernama.

Rubber glove makers Top Glove eased two sen to RM4.45 while Hartalega lost 20 sen to RM8.00. The sell-off in these stocks dragged the composite index down by a combined 4.294 points.

Of the other heavyweights, Public Bank slipped one sen to RM4.19, Tenaga lost 11 sen to RM9.93, IHH shed three sen to RM5.72, while Maybank and CIMB were flat at RM8.20 and RM4.60 respectively.

Among the actives, Sanichi slid 1.5 sen to 6.5 sen, Saudee added one sen to 16 sen, Serba Dinamik trimmed three sen to 59.5 sen, Focus was flat at 4.5 sen, while ACE Market debutant, Pekat Group Bhd rose 49.5 sen to 81.5 sen.