Malaysian share prices closed sharply lower on Friday, falling 1.9 percent after Wall Street's tumble overnight sent global stock markets plunging on worries over the state of the US economy, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 26.12 points to 1,355.38, off an intraday high of 1,361.70 and a low 1,347.95.
Volume was 2.0 billion shares worth 3.45 billion ringgit (998 million dollars) while losers outnumbered gainers 883 to 144 and 149 stocks were unchanged. At the close, the ringgit was at 3.4550/4600 against the dollar. The Dow Jones Industrials Average slumped over 300 points on Thursday as investors, perturbed by the US sub-prime mortgage lending issue and higher corporate borrowing costs, used further disappointing home sales data as a cue to exit the market.
"The market has been hit by a confidence issue," Aseambankers Research investment analyst Tee Sze Chiah said of the sell-down in the local bourse. The significant number of losers suggests that "sentiment is very bad," he said, adding that some forced selling in selected stocks worsened the situation.
Index heavyweights were mostly lower as state-owned Telekom Malaysia was down 0.25 ringgit at 9.95 despite a 30 percent jump in half-year net profit. National power supplier Tenaga lost 0.10 ringgit to 10.90 and Malaysia's largest lender Maybank was down 0.20 at 12.00.
British American Tobacco topped the losers list, falling 0.75 ringgit to 40.25, followed by gaming and power group Tanjong, which fell 0.60 to 17.70 while diversified conglomerate Genting was down 0.40 at 8.15.
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