KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded to close higher on Wednesday on selective buying of defensive stocks after a volatile trading session. IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said consumer products and services stocks lifted the key index higher, overcoming lingering geopolitical concerns. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.08 points to 1,715.56 from yesterday’s close of 1,712.48. The benchmark index, which opened 1.91 points higher at 1,714.39, moved between 1,710.79 and 1,720.59 during the day’s trading. In the broader market, gainers outstripped decliners 550 to 476, while 612 counters were unchanged, 1,129 untraded, and 48 suspended. Turnover rose to 2.96 billion units valued at RM2.48 billion from 2.94 billion units valued at RM2.56 billion on Tuesday.
FBM KLCI was brought back below 1,700 mark as the Asian markets were dragged down by the less-than-rosy economic prospects voiced by the Bank of Japan (BoJ).
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| FBM KLCI closed lower, dropping below 1,700 mark |
The benchmark index was down by 0.55% or 9.39 points to 1,690.92 at closing. The underperformance of banking and telecommunications stocks as well as Genting Bhd has impacted the FBM KLCI as well.
Across the board, gainers led losers by 409 counters to 381 counters, while 381 counters finished unchanged. There was 1.52 billion shares traded worth at RM1.704 billion.
The top gainers included Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd and Can-One Bhd.
AirAsia Bhd was the most actively traded counter with 65.23 million shares done.
The decliners included British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd, JMR Conglomeration Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd and Genting.
According to Reuters, Asian stocks fell today after the BoJ expressed more pessimism about the outlook for exports, industrial output and inflation, but the yen firmed as policymakers appeared to back away from any imminent move to cut interest rates further into negative territory.
Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 0.68% lower at 17,117.07 points, South Korea's Kospi was down 0.12% at 1,969.97 points while Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed 0.72% lower at 20,288.77 points.
As for the crude oil, prices dropped as renewed concerns on the recovery of its price will be affected by the ongoing oversupply. The fall in crude oil prices followed the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) statement that global demand for its crude would be less than previously thought in 2016 as supply from rivals proves more resilient to low prices, increasing the excess supply in the market this year, Reuters reported.
The April futures contract for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil dropped 2.29% to US$36.33 per barrel while the contract for Brent crude oil dropped 2.4% to US$38.58 per barrel.
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