Kuala Lumpur, 5th August – The Malaysian stock market took a severe hit, with its total market capitalization falling below the RM 2 trillion mark. As of 9:20 AM, the total market capitalization stood at RM 1.957 trillion. The market has experienced a cumulative decline of RM 143 billion since its peak of RM 2.1 trillion on July 17th.
Within the first ten minutes of trading, over 1,000 stocks had already declined. By 9:20 AM, there were 1,241 declining stocks, only 4 advancing stocks, and 121 stocks unchanged. The sharp decline was attributed to the spillover of panic from the significant drop in the U.S. stock market last Friday, which affected Asian markets at their opening today. As of 9:10 AM, the Nikkei Index had plunged by 6.46%, and the Korean stock market had fallen by 4.33%. The Malaysian Composite Index followed suit, dropping by 38.09 points or 2.36%, to 1,572.96 points.
On Friday (2nd August), the U.S. released weak non-farm payroll data, showing the lowest increase in employment numbers in three and a half years for July, and the unemployment rate rising to a near three-year high. This data heightened fears of an economic recession, causing the major U.S. stock indices to plummet overnight. Consequently, the Malaysian stock market opened below the 1,600-point threshold at 1,593.36 points, down 17.69 points from last Friday’s closing of 1,611.05 points. The Composite Index continued to decline, breaking through the 1,590 and 1,580-point levels, currently sitting at 1,572.96 points.
As of 9:20 AM, the total trading volume on the Malaysian stock market was 1.325 billion shares, with a trading value of RM 669.6 million.
Meanwhile, all sector indices were in the red, with the construction sector index plummeting by 7.50%, the technology sector index by 6.53%, and the property sector index by 6.03%. The real estate investment trust sector index had a smaller decline but was still down by 1.49%.
Among the top decliners, Malaysian Pacific Industries (MPI, 3867, Main Market Technology Stock) dropped by RM 2.38 or 6.8% to RM 32.63, making it the largest loser.
