Malaysian shares ended in the red on Wednesday, extending losses of the past two sessions. The index followed a broader regional decline as Iran maintained that the U.S. must implement the agreed provisions before any final deal.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI, the main gauge of Malaysian stocks, shed 7.23 points to end 0.4% lower at 1,656.83.
In economic news, Malaysia's manufacturing sector improved in June, S&P Global said. The latest seasonally adjusted S&P Global Malaysia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.7 from 49.9 in May. The reading was driven by fresh growth in output across Malaysia's goods-producing sector, lifted by a resurgence in new factory orders.
In corporate news, Malaysian state oil firm Petronas made two new oil and gas discoveries and completed a successful appraisal well at Suriname's offshore Block 52, lifting recoverable resources in the country to more than 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
Shares of Critical (KLSE:CHB) surged over 29% on today's close after its unit Critical Engineering Solutions secured its largest-ever engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract, valued at about 772 million ringgit. The project, awarded by a U.S.-based multinational company, involves developing an industrial facility with an automated storage and retrieval system warehouse and supporting infrastructure in Kedah, Malaysia.
Whereas, shares of Greenyield (KLSE:GREENYB) slid about 3% on close after fire broke out at part of a factory operated by its unit, Galley Reach, in Papua New Guinea on June 28. However, no casualties or injuries were reported.