Market Today
KUALA LUMPUR: The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KL Composite Index gave back some of its early gains, but was kept above the flatline at midday on Wednesday supported by Sime Darby Bhd’s sharp 2% advance.
Banking stocks came under some selling pressure, but shares in goverment-linked property developers UEM Land Bhd and Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) climbed on heavy volume.
In the currency market, the ringgit appreciated to a new 13-year high at 3.084 against the US dollar.
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up 2.82 points, or 0.2% to 1,462.49 points. The 30-counters strong index had earlier surged to an intra-day high of 1.466.29 points.
Market breadth was positive with 323 rising stocks versus 253 decliners. The broader FBM Emas index rose 0.2% to 9,783 points, while the FBM SmallCap Index advanced 0.3% to 11,587 points.
Shares in UEM Land jumped 11 sen, or 5.4% to RM2.13 on volume of 9.7 million shares, while MRCB climbed 10 sen, or 4.9% to RM2.13 on with 8.6 million shares transacted.
Stockbrokers predicted the two firms will be prime beneficiaries from government’s plans to boost development projects in the Klang Valley and Johor.
Meanwhile, shares in conglomerate Sime Darby, which derived significant portions of its income from palm oil and property businesses, rose 17 sen, or 2% to RM8.56.
Gamuda Bhd, which announced a good set of results late Tuesday, saw its share price traded 6 sen higher at RM3.86.
Investors’s mood across Asia was firm, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index leading the charge with a 1.3% rise to 22,392 points. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Average was up 0.7% to 9,567 points, while Korea’s main Kospi Index climbed 0.8% to 1,871 points.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index rose 0.5% to 3,112 points, and in Indonesia the Jakarta Composite Index jumped 0.8% to a new high of 3,500 points.
In the commodity market, spot gold price shot up to another record at US$1,311 a troy ounce, while crude oil remained almost flat at US$76.55 a barrel.
KUALA LUMPUR: The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KL Composite Index closed 2.14 points higher at 1,461.78 points, as the ringgit climbed to a fresh 13-year high against the US dollar.
Out of the 30 stocks that made up the benchmark index, 15 counters ended higher, eight declined, while seven counters were unchanged.
Market breadth was positive, with 430 risers leading 283 decliners and 306 counters flat. Total market volume was 905 million shares worth RM1.4bil.
Among the big cap stocks, plantation firms were the big winners, with Sime Darby Bhd up 14 sen to RM8.53, PPB Group up 18 sen to RM17.08 and IOI Corp 5 sen higher at RM5.55.
CIMB Group declined 6 sen to RM8.17, while both Tenaga Nasional and Axiata were down 4 sen each.
The ringgit was traded at 3.0846 against the US dollar.
Regional bourses performance were mixed.
Thailand’s main stock index surged 1.4%, followed by a 1.2% rise in Hong Kong. The Shenzhen Composite Index tumbled 1.1%, but was almost flat in Shanghai.
Key stocks indices in Japan, Korea, Singapore and Indonesia ended higher, but were down in Taiwan and Australia. In the
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