Continued profit taking activities amid political jitters and vaccine supply concerns saw Bursa Malaysia trading in negative territory throughout the day.

Investors continued to offload their holdings ahead of the weekend after the domestic market hit a record high yesterday.

At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 6.41 points to 1,621.85, mainly dragged down by the health as well as finance counters.

The index opened 0.35 of-a-point lower at 1,627.91 from Thursday’s close of 1,628.26.

It moved between 1,628.82 and 1,618.54 throughout the day.

On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 731 to 580, while 429 counters were unchanged, 393 untraded and 30 others suspended.

Volume climbed to 14.22 billion shares worth RM6.75 billion from 12.37 billion units worth RM6.17 billion yesterday.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said among the FBM KLCI constituents, Petronas Dagangan led decliners after dropping by 2.5 per cent, while CIMB Bank topped the gainers list with a 2.1 per cent increase.

He said Bursa Malaysia’s Energy Index gained the most, rising by 7.5 per cent today after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) agreed to ease output cuts by a lesser amount than what was expected; increasing the daily output by 500,000 barrels in January.

“The 500,000 barrels increase only represents 1.0 per cent of the global oil market,” he said to Bernama.

The Bursa Malaysia Healthcare index was the biggest loser, declining by 1.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, an analyst said investors are concerned over political instability after Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu lost a motion of confidence vote that was tabled against him at the State Assembly sitting earlier today.

Additionally, risk sentiment also soured as drugmaker Pfizer Inc slashed the target for the rollout of its COVID-19 vaccine.

The analyst also said that the market was also waiting for the United States employment data set to be released later today.

Among the heavyweights, Top Glove declined 13 sen to RM6.65, IHH depreciated five sen to RM5.45 and Hartalega went down 16 sen to RM14.50.

Petronas Gas eased two sen to RM17.40 and Telekom Malaysia was seven sen lower at RM5.30.

Among the actives, Yong Tai rose seven sen to 36.5 sen, Ho Wah inched up 3.5 sen to 88 sen, while Metronic added 1.5 sen to 13.5 sen.