KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index closed lower today, in line with most regional markets, as investors adjusted their risk exposure amid spiralling oil prices driven by the ongoing West Asia conflict, now in its second month. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) retreated by 24.75 points or 1.44 per cent to 1,687.90 from Friday’s close of 1,712.65. The market bellwether opened 10.57 points weaker at 1,702.08 and fluctuated between 1,682.79 and 1,702.38. The broader market was bearish, with decliners thumping advancers 956 to 371. A total of 373 counters were unchanged, 1,042 untraded and 134 suspended. Turnover expanded to 3.98 billion units worth RM4.85 billion from last Friday’s 2.97 billion units worth RM3.25 billion.
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 21): The FBM KLCI settled 0.21% or 3.48 points higher at 1,627.28 points today on bargain hunting activities after having languished in the red for three days last week.
"The FBM KLCI closed in the green in tandem with the gains in key regional indices, mainly due to bargain hunting activities," said Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd analyst Kenneth Leong.
Gainers were led by Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd and Far East Holdings Bhd.
Meanwhile, Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd, United Plantations Bhd and British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd were among the top decliners.
The bourse saw a total of 1.38 billion shares worth RM1.38 billion traded throughout the day, with 365 gainers and 409 decliners.
APFT Bhd was the most active stock, with some 57 million shares done.
According to Inter-Pacific Research Sdn Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew, the day's trading was generally listless and very narrow, with gains seen mostly in the banking group from Hong Leong Financial Group, Hong Leong Bank Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd.
Smaller cap stocks and the ACE market also did relatively well.
According to Leong, export-related technology stocks such as Unisem (M) Bhd outperformed the broader market with gains of some 1.1% in the technology index.
According to Reuters, Asian shares traded defensively today, undermined by fears of fund outflows amid a strengthening US dollar and rising US bond yields since Donald Trump was elected as the US president.
Japan's Nikkei reportedly rose 0.8% to hit a 10½-month high, thanks to the weaker yen.
Source: The Edge

Comments
Post a Comment