Bursa Malaysia slipped into the red at mid-morning. — Malay Mail pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — Bursa Malaysia slipped into the red at mid-morning dragged down by Petronas-related counters as investors remained concerned over its operations in Iraq.
At 11.06am, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was down 4.93 points to 1,590.72 compared with yesterday’s close of 1,595.62.
An analyst said despite the de-escalation between Washington and Tehran, Iraq remains a hot ground for now and the Malaysian Foreign Ministry is currently monitoring the situation.
Wisma Putra had issued a travel advisory and hoped Malaysians in Iran and Iraq as well as others who are planning to travel there will take safety precautions.
There are currently 163 Malaysian citizens in Iraq, most of whom are Petronas staff, as well as several lecturers, while in Iran, 73 people have registered with Malawakil (Office of the Malaysian Delegation) in Tehran.
Among heavyweight Petronas-linked counters, Petronas Gas went down 20 sen to RM16.80, Petronas Chemicals declined five sen to RM7.26, while Petronas Dagangan and MISC were flat at RM22.76 and RM8.27.
Of the actives, DGB was one sen higher at 15 sen, Sapura Energy was flat at 28 sen while Mudajaya was four rose to 43.5 sen, while for top gainers, Malaysian Pacific added 42 sen to RM12.20, KESM increased 74 sen RM10.10 while United Plantation gained 60 sen to RM26.70.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index went down 28.46 points to 11,333.45 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 37.35 points higher at 11,952.28.
The FBMT 100 Index lost 29.14 points to 11,128.56, the FBM 70 slipped 15.30 points to 14,226.07 while the FBM Ace expanded 15.61 points to 5,516.28.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index declined slightly by 0.45 point to 153.41, while the Financial Services Index dipped 10.35 points to 15,549.48 and the Plantation Index contracted 22.44 points to 7,663.85. — Bernama