KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 17): Mercury Securities Bhd has received an unusual market activity (UMA) query from Bursa Malaysia after its share price plunged 40% to 45 sen, down 30 sen from 75 sen, making it the latest out of a series of stocks on Bursa Malaysia to hit limit down on Wednesday.

At Wednesday's close, the counter experienced a slight rebound of half a sen to settle at 45.5 sen, still down 39% or 29.5 sen.

The brokerage firm’s stock dive came just a couple of days after it hit an all-time high of 88.5 sen on Monday.

The share price tumble led to a loss of RM384 million in market capitalisation, as its market cap fell from RM790.3 million to RM406.3 million.

Like the day before, Mercury Securities was the third most actively traded stock on Wednesday, with 135.35 million shares changing hands — more than three times its 100-day average trading volume of 35.71 million.

This is the second consecutive day that the stock has come under selling pressure, as it plummeted by 15.25% or 13.5 sen to 75 sen on Tuesday before tumbling further on Wednesday.

The group has been requested by Bursa Malaysia to announce if there were any corporate developments relating to its business and affairs that had not been previously disclosed which may account for the trading activity, or any rumour or report concerning its business and affairs, other possible explanations for the trading activity, and if it is in compliance with listing requirements on immediate disclosure obligations.

Mercury Securities made its Bursa debut on Sept 9, 2023, with its initial public offering priced at 25 sen per share. The stock then climbed steadily to its peak of 88.5 sen.

The financial services provider made a net loss of RM421,704 on a revenue of RM8.71 million in its fourth quarter ended Oct 31, 2023. For the full-year ended Oct 31, 2023, its net profit came in at RM8.38 millio, on the back of revenue of RM27.41 million.

The group’s largest shareholder is its founder Chew Sing Guan who owns a 37.10% direct stake. Its non-executive director Datuk Rahman Safar owns a 8.24% stake while fellow non-executive director Chan Kim Hing owns a 0.07% stake.