KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia saw widespread declines, with over 900 stocks in the red, reflecting the ongoing weak sentiment across the market.
The FBM KLCI tumbled 16.82 points or 1.05% to 1,585.59, recovering from an intraday low of 1,578.97. All indices on Bursa Malaysia ended in negative territory, except the Bursa Malaysia Energy Index.
In the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers with 913 stocks ending lower and 211 stocks finishing higher. That gave a market breadth of 0.23 indicating the bears were in better control.
Traded volume stood at 2.85 billion shares valued at RM2.54bil.
Among the losers, Nestle tumbled RM2.50 to RM92.50, BLD Plantation slid 70 sen to RM11.28, Malaysian Pacific Industries lost 50 sen to RM23.46 and F&N fell 32 sen to RM26.68.
Hong Leong Industries was the top gainer on Bursa Malaysia, adding 38 sen to RM13.28. PETRONAS Dagangan rose 6 sen to RM19.26, Perstima gained 15 sen to RM2.30 and Hibiscus Petroleum climbed eight sen to RM2.03.
On the external front, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 1% to 18,874.14 while South Korea’s Kospi ended 1.04% lower at 2,489.56.
China’s CSI 300 index closed down 0.27% at 3,722.51 and the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.25% at 3,160.76 points. Japan's markets were closed for a holiday.