Malaysian Stocks Decline for Fourth Consecutive Session

Malaysian stocks continued their downward trend on Friday, marking the fourth consecutive session of decline. The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI MY:FBMKLCI dropped by 0.6%, closing at 1,377.67.

Agriculture Firm and Telecommunication Services Company Hit Hard

IOI MY:1961, an agriculture firm, experienced the largest decline, falling by 2.3%. Following closely behind was Maxis MY:6012, a telecommunication services company, which saw a decrease of 1.7%. Another telecommunication services company, CELCOMDIGI MY:6947, also faced a decline of 1.5%.

Real Estate and Basic Materials/Resources Companies Show Resilience

KLCC Property Holdings MY:5235SS, a leading real estate company, defied the trend and managed to increase by 0.9% during the session. Press Metal Aluminium MY:8869, a firm in the basic materials/resources sector, gained 0.8%. Petronas Chemicals Group MY:5183, operating in the same sector, also performed well and saw its shares rise by 0.8%.

Southeast Asian Markets Experience Mixed Results

Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times Index SG:STI declined by 0.4%, while the Thailand SET Index TH:SET remained steady. The Philippines’ PSEi Index PH:PSEI dropped by 1.5%, and Indonesia’s JSX Composite Index ID:JAKIDX experienced a decline of 0.6%.

Asia-Pacific Region Faces Similar Challenges

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HK:HSI fell by 0.9%, while Japan’s NIKKEI 225 Index JP:NIK dropped by 1.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite Index CN:SHCOMP declined by 0.3%.

South Korea and Australia also Witness Market Downturn

South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index KR:180721 fell by 1.2%, while the S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index AU:XJO of Australian stocks dropped by 1.7%.

Currency Update

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar USDMYR climbed by 0.1% against the Malaysian ringgit, reaching 4.67 ringgit. Meanwhile, the euro EURMYR experienced a slight decrease of 0.1%, closing at 5.07 ringgit.