KUALA
LUMPUR (July 10): Bargain hunting helped the FBM KLCI close in positive
territory for the second day running today, after hitting an 18-month
low.
The key index rose 14.5 points or 0.87% to 1,687.13, adding to
yesterday’s 8.77-point recovery from the 18-month low of 1,663.86 last
Friday.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong said the
positive market sentiment was also due to the strengthening of the
ringgit against the US dollar, and gains on Wall Street and regional
markets.
“The KLCI extended its gains today, and we believe this positive
sentiment is underpinned by bargain hunting activities, as well as the
stronger ringgit against the US dollar.
“The index performance is also in line with the generally positive
[performance] in the Asian stock markets and the US stock markets
overnight,” Leong told theedgemarkets.com.
At press time, the ringgit was trading at 4.0195 to the US dollar, up 0.75% compared with 4.0498 a week ago.
Reuters reported most Southeast Asian stock markets climbed
today, with Singapore and Indonesia extending their rally, as U.S.
stocks gained overnight on hopes of strong corporate earnings, boosting
positive sentiment across Asia.
“Asian shares outside Japan climbed for a third straight session, as
bank shares boosted Wall Street on Monday, although trade tensions
between the United States and China continued to linger,”
Reuters said.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was up 0.66% to 22,196.89 and South Korea’s
Kospi index rose 0.37% to 2,294.16. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index however
ended in the red, down 0.02% to 28,682.25.
The local bourse saw 1.99 billion shares traded for a total value of RM2.23 billion.
Gainers outnumbered losers by 414 to 319, while 484 counters were unchanged.
Among market movers were Telekom Malaysia Bhd which rose 3% to
RM3.45, Maxis Bhd (up 2.5% to RM5.40), MISC Bhd ( up 2.5% to RM6.06),
Sime Darby Bhd (up 2.6% to RM2.40) and IOI Corp Bhd (up 2% to RM4.55).
Top Glove Corp Bhd was the day’s top gainer. It rose 8.4% to RM9.90
in active trading, with 49.4 million shares exchanging hands. Other
actively-traded counters include Sapura Energy Bhd and Barakah Offshore
Petroleum Bhd.
Counters in the red today include Dialog Group Bhd (down 1.3% to RM3.11) and Hong Leong Industries Bhd (down 3.1% to RM11.10).
Source:
The Edge