KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index ended higher, amid an overall cautious market sentiment, on bargain-hunting activities, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 12.87 points or 0.85 per cent to the day’s high of 1,526.52 from Friday’s close of 1,513.65. The benchmark index had opened 3.49 points higher at 1,517.14 and reached an intraday low of 1,514.08. In the broader market, decliners thumped gainers 637 to 288, while 428 counters were unchanged, 995 untraded and nine suspended. Turnover went up to 2.37 billion units valued at RM2.03 billion from Friday’s 2.25 billion units valued at RM2.13 billion. The market was closed on March 31 and April 1 for the Hari Raya public holidays.
There is no sign of slowing down as the FBM KLCI continued to fall with weakening Ringgit against the USD.
As of 5pm today, the FBM KLCI closed at 1,654.37 as stocks like Tenaga Nasional Bhd, SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd and other energy counters lead the declined. The ringgit depreciated to 3.9365 against the US dollar after weakening to a fresh level at 3.9420 earlier.
To put into perspective, the Malaysian stocks fell to their lowest in more than two years.
With the weakening Ringgit and the announcement of the decline in the Malaysia's international reserves, that fell below the US$100 billion threshold, at US$96.7 billion as at July 31 this year, according to Bank Negara Malaysia's statement last Friday (Aug 7). This compared to US$100.5 billion on July 15. The Malaysia's political scene is not encouraging as well with the recent Cabinet reshuffle. Such political sentiment and other global factors have not augured well for the ringgit. The global factors that contribute to the decline in Ringgit includes the lower crude oil prices and anticipation of US interest rate hikes this year.
The Kuala Lumpur composite index shed 1.68 percent to 1,654.37, its lowest close since March 2013, as the ringgit hit its weakest since September 1998. The Indonesian index fell 0.5 percent as foreign investors sold a net 114.4 billion rupiah ($8.44 million) worth of shares, a fifth straight day of sales. Coal miners such as Indo Tambangraya and Adaro Energy were among the decliners. The Philippine index erased most early gains, ending nearly flat amid foreign-led selling in energy shares with First Gen Corp hitting a three-week low. Bangkok's SET index eased 0.6 percent in the final week of the quarterly reporting season. Shares of Thai Airways International Pcl fell 0.8 percent ahead of its earnings results due on Tuesday. Bucking the trend, Vietnam's benchmark VN Index closed 1.78 percent higher, its biggest jump since July 22, led by Vinamilk and BaoViet Holdings. Singapore market was closed for National Day holidays.
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| image captured from Bursa Malaysia |
According to some analyst, it's expected to see some rebound in the Malaysia market with such a steep drop in the market. What say you?
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