KLCI tracks US stock futures lower, Petronas counters lead decline

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI was down in early morning trade as US stock futures plunged in after-hours trading on a report that the Chinese delegation might cut short its meeting in Washington.

Wall Street markets had surged overnight on optimism over the trade talks as China signaled that it was ready for a partial trade deal.

However, the confidence was throttled by a report that deputy-level talks between the two parties had broken down, raising the possibility of Vice Premier Liu He leaving the negotiation table as soon as Thursday, instead of Friday as initially scheduled.

Asian markets took in this latest turn of events in the trade dispute, and opened on a bearish note.

At 9.05am, the local index was down 1.56 points to 1,549.67. Trading volume was 100.42 million shares valued at RM35.31mil.

Among the heavyweights dragging on the market was Petronas Chemicals shedding 10 sen to RM7.10, Petronas Dagangan down 16 sen to RM23.14 and PPB losing 10 sen to RM17.70.

Notable gainers included Tenaga Nasional up six sen to RM13.66, MISC advancing five sen to RM8.03 and Aeon Credit up 20 sen to RM14.94.

Kenanga research said in its technical outlook that the underlying trend on the market remains bearish as the index is trading below its key simple moving averages.

However, it does not discount the possibility of a rebound rally given the steep decline last week and new oversold levels in the relative strength index.

“Key support levels to watch out for are 1,550 (S1) and 1,510 (S2). Conversely, overhead resistance levels can be found at 1,630 (R1) and 1,650 (R2),” it said.

Source: TheStar