KLCI falls 0.8% in line with region to below 1,500 as White House adviser says China trade deal is 'over'

KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): The FBM KLCI fell 0.8% to below the 1,500-point level in mid-morning trade today as regional sentiment turned negative after White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said yesterday the trade deal with China was "over".

At 10am, the KLCI fell 12.08 points to 1,499.16.

Market breadth was negative with 539 losers and 172 gainers, while 352 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was 2.18 billion shares valued at RM881.62 million.

The top losers included Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd, British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd, IHH Healthcare Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, Maxis Bhd, Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd, Enra Group Bhd and UMW Holdings Bhd.

The actives included Iris Corp Bhd, AT Systemization Bhd, MQ Technology Bhd, Anzo Holdings Bhd, Radiant Globaltech Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd and Ageson Bhd.

The top gainers included Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Bhd, Hextar Global Bhd, Kuchai Development Bhd, Lii Hen Industries Bhd, ViTrox Corp Bhd and Sarawak Consolidated Industries Bhd.

Bloombergsaid US stock futures slid and Asian benchmarks gave up gains after a Trump administration official was reported as saying the Sino-American trade deal is “over”.

The yuan slid against the US dollar in offshore trading afterReutersreported that Trump aide Peter Navarro said, “it’s over” when asked in a Fox News interview about the trade agreement with China.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd in its daily market report said US equities closed firmer after a shaky start predominantly boosted by technology stocks.

It said the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 26,000-mark or 153 points higher despite the US seeing a rise in Covid-19 cases.

The research house said regional equities are expected to remain mixed following yesterday’s weak performance.

“As for the local bourse, we reckon sentiment will remain jittery notwithstanding yesterday’s positive closing.

“Therefore, we expect the KLCI to continue consolidating within the 1,500-1,515 range.

“Meanwhile, crude oil prices inched higher with the Brent now above US$43 (RM183.87) per barrel,” it said.