KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 3): Bursa Malaysia kicked off 2022 on a weak note as market sentiment was clouded by the latest development pertinent to the Omicron variant of Covid-19 amid profit-taking following recent volatility. At 9.05am on Monday (Jan 3), the benchmark FBM KLCI had lost 17.77 points to 1,549.76 after the key index closed at 1,567.53 last Friday. “However, sentiment may still be dampened by surging Omicron variant cases around the world. The government has decided to temporarily suspend the permission for travelling to perform the umrah beginning from Jan 8 to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on Sunday said the decision is to slow down the spread of the Omicron variant as data obtained showed that almost 78% of the "presumptive" new Omicron cases were from those returning from the pilgrimage.

Source: The Edge Markets January 03, 2022 07:42 UTC