KLCI dips 0.17% in holiday-shortened trading as key blue chips drag

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 24): The FBM KLCI fell 0.17% this morning ahead of the shortened trading hours in view of the impending Lunar New Year holidays.

Trading at Bursa Securities will end at 12.30pm today, and resume at 9am Tuesday, Jan 28.

At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI  fell 2.68 points to 1,571.76.

The top losers included Tenaga Nasional Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Allianz Malaysia Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, IHH Healthcare Bhd, Gamuda Bhd, MISC Bhd and Teck Guan Perdana Bhd.

Bloombergreported that Asian stocks headed for a mixed start to Friday trading as investors assessed the fallout from the deadly coronavirus. Treasuries climbed and oil steadied after recent falls.

Futures pointed higher in Japan and Australian shares edged up at the open. Contracts in Hong Kong slipped earlier. U.S. stock futures were steady after the S&P 500 eked out a small advance helped by gains for big tech companies. As officials in China widened their travel ban beyond the epicenter of the outbreak, the World Health Organization stopped short of calling the virus a global health emergency, saying it remains a local crisis. The yuan stayed lower and the yen held gains, it said.

JF Apex Securities Research said US stocks closed little changed on Thursday, recovering most of their losses from earlier in the session, after the World Health Organization quelled some of the fears around the deadly coronavirus.

Meanwhile, it said European markets closed lower amid increasing concerns over the spread of the China coronavirus, while dovish tones from the European Central Bank (ECB) exerted further downward pressure.

“On the local market, the FBM KLCI lost 3.54 points or 0.22% to 1574.44 points.

“The local bourse set to trade cautiously, with an immediate support level of 1570 points, as investors continue to weigh impact of coronavirus,” it said.