Stocks fall, oil at record US$140

By JOSEPH CHIN

KUALA LUMPUR: Stocks opened sharply lower Friday as investors’ sentiment took another round of battering, weighed down by the fall on Wall Street as oil spiked to a new record high of US$140.39.

At 9.30am, the KLCI was down 16.75 points to 1,187.14. Turnover was 37 million shares valued at RM83.88mil. There were 25 gainers, 224 losers and 71 counters unchanged.

Asian markets fell, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 280 points or 2.03% to 13,542.27, Singapore’s Straits Times Index lost 1.73% to 2,929.51 while Shanghai’s A Sahre index opened 3.58% lower at 2,935.23.

In New York, US stocks plunged Thursday, with the Dow sliding about 360 points to a 21-month low as oil hit a record and Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs urged investors to sell bank and automaker shares, escalating concern about the outlook for profits.

Reuters reported that oil surged above US$140 a barrel in New York trading, compounding fears that soaring inflation will hamper a global economy already on the ropes.

General Motors' stock sank to its lowest level in 53 years, after Goldman warned that the big US automaker could have to raise capital and cut dividends in a brutal slowdown for the auto industry.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 358.41 points, or 3.03%, to 11,453.42, putting it within the grasp of a bear market.

At Bursa, the major losers were BAT and DiGi, down 50 sen each to RM43.25 and RM23.90, TM International 35 sen lower to RM6.35, KL Kepong 30 sen to RM17.20 while Genting lost 25 sen to RM5.55 and Public Bank and IJM 20 sen each to RM10.30 and RM5.25.

Luxchem, which made its debut, fell 16.5 sen to 93.5 sen.

Aictively-traded AirAsia fell 2.5 sen to 82.5 sen while Resorts and Gamuda gave up three sen each to RM2.68 and RM2.30 respectively, MRCB shed two sen to RM1.14.