KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 5): A sharp decline in 22 stocks on Bursa Malaysia triggered a wave of suspensions in intraday short selling (IDSS) amid widespread selling in the market.

IDSS activities will be suspended when the last price of approved securities fall below the daily limit. The daily limit is 15% for stocks above RM1 and 15 sen for counters under RM1.

In the construction sector, WCT Holdings Bhd (KL:WCT) and Kimlun Corp Bhd (KL:KIMLUN) were affected, and in real estate, the IDSS suspension is in place for Mah Sing Group Bhd (KL:MAHSING), KSL Holdings Bhd (KL:KSL), UEM Sunrise Bhd (KL:UEMS), Sime Darby Property Bhd (KL:SIMEPROP) and S P Setia Bhd (KL:SPSETIA).

Both the construction and property sectors have benefited from a frenzy over data centres as investors scrambled for a piece of the action to build the facilities. Even after Monday’s steep tumble, Bursa Malaysia Property Index is still up 14% year-to-date while the Construction Index racks up 35% gains.

Meanwhile, the technology sector saw six stocks — Notion VTec Bhd (KL:NOTION), SMRT Holdings Bhd (KL:SMRT), TT Vision Holdings Bhd (KL:TTVHB), Infoline Tec Group Bhd (KL:INFOTEC), MyEG Services Bhd (KL:MYEG) and Mi Technovation Bhd (KL:MI) — affected by the IDSS suspension.

The fall in technology stocks on Monday extended last Friday's decline, amid concerns over their global counterparts' disappointing earnings and design troubles of chips powering artificial intelligence (AI). There are now also fears about the health of the US economy.

The two-day selldown has nearly wiped out the 18% gain since the start of 2024 when investors were bullish on AI and semiconductor upcycle.

In the industrial sector, IDSS was also suspended for VS Industry Bhd (KL:VS), Nationgate Holdings Bhd (KL:NATGATE), Kobay Technology Bhd (KL:KOBAY), HSS Engineers Bhd (KL:HSSEB) and Southern Cable Group Bhd (KL:SCGBHD).

The suspension in IDSS also covered oil-and-gas services firms Icon Offshore Bhd (KL:ICON) and Deleum Bhd (KL:DELEUM), water-and-electric producer Ranhill Utilities Bhd (KL:RANHILL), as well as telecommunications service provider REDTone Digital Bhd (KL:REDTONE).

The IDSS for all these stocks will be allowed to resume at 8.30am on Tuesday, according to a special announcement in the exchange.