KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): The FBM KLCI was tethered below the crucial 1,500-point level at the midday break ahead of the outcome of the meeting between the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and interim Prime Minister (PM) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today.

It was reported earlier that Dr Mahathir had been summoned to meet the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in Istana Negara at 11am.

Citing a report by RTM, Malay Mail Online this morning said Chief Justice Tan Sri Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat had also been similarly summoned.

Notably, the King had finished interviewing all 222 MPs yesterday to seek their views on who should be the PM in order to determine who has the majority support of the Dewan Rakyat.

Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir is scheduled to announce a stimulus package later this afternoon.

Dr Mahathir in a tweet yesterday said the stimulus package announcement would help restore investors’ confidence in the market, which has been under pressure recently due to uncertainties in the local political landscape as well as the Covid-19 outbreak.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up 3.55 points to 1,498.74. The index had earlier in the morning risen to a high of 1,508.27.

Market breadth was negative with 433 losers and 180 gainers, while 517 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 2.02 billion shares valued at RM1.23 billion.

The gainers included Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, Genting Plantations Bhd, Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd, CI Holdings Bhd, Far East Holdings Bhd and PPB Group Bhd.

The actives included Avillion Bhd, Powerwell Holdings Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd, Datasonic Group Bhd, XOX Bhd, My EG Services Bhd and DGB Asia Bhd.

The decliners included Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Batu Kawan Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd, Dufu Technology Corp Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd and Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd.

Reuters said oil and Asian share markets extended losses on Thursday as the rapid global spread of the coronavirus kept investors on edge and seeking safety in gold and bonds.

Rising fears of a pandemic, which US health authorities have warned is likely, had already wiped more than US$3.6 trillion from global stock markets by Wednesday's close, it said.

Affin Hwang Capital Research said the FBM KLCI dropped 5.69 points or 0.4% to close at 1,495.19 on Wednesday.

It said the index managed to push to a session high of 1,508.43 but failed to sustain gains, closing in the red at the end. This tells us that sentiments remain weak with investors still lacking confidence.

“Presently, there is no clear signs of an upward reversal: 1) Selected key technical indicators still pointing lower, 2) Price action showed no clues of a positive reversal higher.

“Overall, bearish bias view remains. Anticipate the index to trade with downward bias,” it said.