KUALA LUMPUR: Growing concern over the health of the US banking sector spilled over to Malaysia’s equities market on Wednesday, triggering a sell-off by investors.
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At 12.30pm, Malaysia’s benchmark FBM KLCI was down 10.4 points to 1,414.79, driven lower by a global sell down in equities that began in US markets overnight.
There were 446 declining stocks on the market compared to 272 gainers. Trading volume on Bursa was 1.51 billion shares, transacted for a combined RM775.44mil.
Malaysian bank stocks were among the most affected by news that First Republic Bank, an embattled US lender, had recorded a 40% decline in deposits in the first quarter of the year.
Robust earnings reported by US tech giants Microsoft and Alphabet in after-hours trade lifted US stock futures but failed to ease jitters on the Asian trading scene.
Among the major regional benchmarks, Japan’s Nikkei fell 1% to 28,333, South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2% to 2,484 and China’s composite index dropped 0.3% to 3,254.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng however bounced back from earlier losses to put on 0.6% to 19,733, as investors turned more hopeful on tech earnings this reporting period.
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Australia’s ASX200 was down 0.3% to 7,300.
Back home, Malaysia’s financial stock index fell 0.9% on fears of contagion from the global banking sector. CIMB dropped 11 sen to RM5.05, Maybank shed seven sen to RM8.58, Public Bank gave up four sen to Rm3.89 and Hong Leong Bank fell 10 sen to RM20.18.
Most other blue chips were also the backfoot, with telcos among the biggest laggards. Maxis was down seven sen to RM4.28, CelcomDigi slid three sen to RM4.38 and Axiata lost five sne to RM2.96.
Nestle, which reported its latest quarterly earnings after the closing bell yesterday, dropped RM1.30 to RM135.20.
Among PETRONAS stocks, PETRONAS Gas was down 14 sen to RM16.84, PETRONAS Dagangan shed 22 sen to RM21.92 and PETRONAS Chemicals stayed flat at RM7.20.
Active movers on the broader market included Fitters up 0.5 sen to 5.5 sen, Vinvest rising 0.5 sen to 20.5 sen and CFM gaining one sne to 27.5 sen.
Star Media, which saw the emergence of a new substantial shareholder in the form of media businessman Tan Sri Tong Kooi Ong, jumped 11 sen to 62 sen. – The Star