KUALA LUMPUR: The Securities Commission (SC) and Bursa Malaysia Bhd have extended the temporary suspension of short-selling by another two months to June 30.
The temporary suspension, which began on March 24, 2020, was initially targeted to end on April 30.
“The extension of the temporary suspension will ensure that market management measures are still in place, to manage risks within the prevailing uncertain and challenging environment amid Covid-19 pandemic, as well as to mitigate any excessive speculative activities in the marketplace,” the regulators said in a joint statement today.
The temporary suspension was introduced by the SC and Bursa Malaysia as part of a slew of proactive measures to mitigate potential risks arising from heightened volatility and global uncertainties as a result of Covid-19.
It involves the suspension of intraday short selling and regulated short selling, as well as intraday short selling by proprietary day traders. The suspension, however, does not apply to permitted short selling.
“The temporary suspension of short selling remains a short-term measure to provide stability and confidence in the Malaysian capital market.
“Both the SC and Bursa Malaysia will continue to monitor developments affecting the securities market and evaluate the adequacy of existing measures to support an orderly market and to mitigate potential risks,” they said. – Bernama
