KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended lower today, with the benchmark index declining 0.5 per cent, weighed down by selected heavyweights led by Press Metal, IHH Healthcare, and Tenaga Nasional. Press Metal shed 16 sen to RM4.87, IHH Healthcare dipped 14 sen to RM6.75, and TNB slipped 18 sen to RM13.58. These stocks resulted in a 6.12-point decline in the benchmark index. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 7.61 points to 1,518.91 versus Wednesday’s close of 1,526.52. The benchmark index opened 9.22 points lower at 1,517.30 and fluctuated between 1,512.32 and 1,524.41 throughout the day. In the broader market, losers thumped gainers 548 to 357, while 448 counters were unchanged, 994 untraded and eight suspended. Turnover rose to 2.51 billion units valued at RM1.81 billion against Wednesday’s 2.37 billion units valued at RM2.03 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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