KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI fell below the critical 1,500 level in late morning trade on Monday on the political crisis in the ruling coalition government but key Asian markets skidded over the Covid-19 coronavirus.
At 11.29am, the KLCI was down 33.24 points or 2.17% to 1,497.96. Turnover was 1.81 billion shares valued at RM1.59bil. Decliners hammered advancers 882 to 93 while 181 stocks were unchanged.
Among the key Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi tumbled 3.14% as a spike in new cases of the coronavirus in the country intensified fears over the epidemic's trajectory and of the widening economic fallout. Australia's S&P/ASX lost 2.24%, Hang Seng Index 1.4%, Nikkei 225 0.39% and Shanghai Composite 0.43% and Taiwan's 1.38%.
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