Asian markets slide, KLCI slumps 40 points on Covid-19 anxiety

KUALA LUMPUR: Key Asian markets and Bursa Malaysia slumped in early Monday trade on growing anxiety over the fallout from the Covid-19 coronavirus as no certainty was in sight on how long it would continue.

At 9.13am, the FBM KLCI fell 43.38 points or 3.33% to 1,259.90. Turnover was 320.34 million shares valued at RM160.22mil. Decliners hammered advancers 564 to 54 while 76 counters were unchanged.

Reuters reported Asian shares slid as more countries all but shut down in the fight against the coronavirus, threatening to overwhelm policymakers’ frantic efforts to cushion what is clear to be a deep global recession.

E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 dived 5% at the open to be limit down. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 2%, with South Korea badly hit.

At Bursa last week, foreign funds were net sellers at RM1.79bil but the selling was absorbed by local institutions who were net buyers at RM 1.55bil and retail investors RM243.2mil.

Last Friday’s surge in the FBM KLCI was due to local institutions which were net buyers at RM262.4mil while retail investors were net sellers at RM2.2mil and foreign funds at RM260.2mil.

Carlsberg fell RM1.58 to RM19.42, F&N and Heineken RM1.14 each to RM28.86 and RM18.96 while Ajinomoto lost 88 sen to RM10.52. Nestle rose RM2 to RM137.

SAM Engineering fell 86 sen to RM4.33, Scientex 65 sen to RM6.20 while Aeon Credit was down 64 sen to RM7.94.

Insurers LPI and Allianz slid 62 sen each to RM10.20 and RM11.40.

Spritzer jumped 24 sen to RM2.14 after StarBiz reported the company plans to set up two high speed fully automated bottling lines at its facilities in Shah Alam and Yong Peng this year as part of a RM40mil investment plan.

AIRASIA gave up most of Friday’s gains, down 7.5 sen to 60.5 sen with 15.16 million shares done.

Also down in active trade with Ekovest, JAKS, Hibiscus, MyEG and Bumi Armada.

Source: TheStar