KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended higher today as buying on selected blue chips continued, said a brokerage. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 8.85 points or 0.51 per cent to 1,756.39 from Tuesday’s close of 1,747.54. The barometer index opened 3.69 points higher at 1,751.23 before moving as low as 1,745.51 in early trade to as high as 1,757.15 during the mid-afternoon session. Market breadth was positive with gainers leading losers 575 to 474, while 549 counters were unchanged, 1,087 untraded and 11 suspended. Turnover expanded to 2.55 billion units valued at RM3.06 billion from yesterday’s 2.19 billion units valued at RM2.35 billion.
The focus today will be on both the Ringgit against a much stronger US dollar and the plantation sector. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board will announce this week Oct inventory, output and export numbers, thus the spot light on the plantation sector.
Last Monday, the KLCI eked out a 0.41-point gain to settle at 1,686.11. Yesterday, the Malaysian stock market was closed for the Deepavali holiday.
However, overnight US dollar gains could put the ringgit in the spotlight today. The ringgit was last traded weaker at 4.3825 versus the US dollar.
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| The Ringgit on spot light against a stronger US dollar |
Reuters reported that the prospect of a US rate hike sent the dollar to a seven-month high. A strong dollar eats into the overseas sales at US companies.
In overnight US share trades, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.16% to 17,758.21 points. Nasdaq Composite fell 0.24% to 5,083.24.
With the plantation shares like Sime Darby Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, IOI Corp Bhd and PPB Group Bhd account for substantial weightage in the 30-stock FBM KLCI, it will be interesting to see how the data will impact the index as a whole.
CIMB Investment Bank Bhd said in a note Malaysia's Oct palm oil inventory could have climbed to a record 2.72 million tonnes from the preceding month as exports dropped at a faster pace than production.
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