2 days ago
FBM KLCI sees muted trading action ahead of the weekend
KUALA LUMPUR: Trading on Bursa Malaysia remained subdued ahead of the weekend as investors awaited the release of US payrolls data, a key indicator of economic health amid the ongoing tariffs saga.
There was little spark on the domestic market following a disappointing earnings season, with the FBM KLCI on course to end the last trading day of the week 1.53 points lower at 1,516.59.
The declining issues on the market outweighed advancers 2.17-to-1, to suggest a broad weakness. Meanwhile, trading was subdued with 1.14 billion shares changing hands for a low value of RM730.61mil.
PETRONAS-related stocks were among the laggards, following an announcement yesterday that the oil major will be reducing its workforce by 10%, as well as implementing a hiring freeze until end-2026.
PETRONAS Chemicals dropped nine sen to RM3.27, PETRONAS Dagangan shed 24 sen to RM20.90 and PETRONAS Gas slid two sen to RM18.16, while MISC was unchanged at RM7.60.
The most actively traded stocks, meanwhile, were Tanco up one sen to RM1.10, MYEG flat at 93 sen and Reservoir Link unchanged at 35.5 sen.
Regionally, markets were mostly in negative territory in anticipation of the release of more US economic data. China's CSI300 dropped 0.12% to 3,873 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 0.21% to 23,857.
Japan's Nikkei was up 0.23% to 37,640. Singapore's Straits Times gained 0.16% to 3,923.
