KUALA LUMPUR: A surge in new Covid-19 infections forced key Asian markets to retreat further at midday on Monday, including Bursa Malaysia, which was also impacted by a downgrade in its outlook by S&P Global Ratings.
Weaker May exports also dented sentiment though it recorded a rebound in its trade surplus. Exports totalled RM62.69bil, down by 25.5% while imports decreased by 30.4% to RM52.27bil, according to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI).
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 10.72 points or 0.72% to 1,477.42. Turnover was 3.42 billion shares but the quality of trade was low at RM1.19bil. Decliners beat advancers 706 to 216 while 334 counters were unchanged.
Reuters reported stocks in the Philippines and South Korea fell most as markets in Asia caught up with a drop in major US indexes on Friday after several states there halted plans to reopen economies due to a jump in cases. The death toll from Covid-19 reached half a million people and confirmed cases topped 10 million on Sunday, according to a Reuters tally.
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