KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia's key index closed at an intraday high today, supported by continued buying interest even as renewed geopolitical tensions and a weaker overnight lead from Wall Street following the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) decision to stand pat on interest rates weighed on broader sentiment. The Fed has decided to hold rates steady for the fifth consecutive meeting, with the Federal Funds Rate unchanged between 3.50 per cent and 3.75 per cent. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.84 points to 1,720.40 from yesterday’s close of 1,715.56. The benchmark index, which opened 1.14 points lower at 1,714.42, hit its lowest level of 1,710.69 in early trade before gaining momentum for the rest of the day. However, the broader market was negative with losers outpacing gainers 581 to 411, while 612 counters were unchanged, 1,173 untraded, and 87 suspended. Turnover declined to 2.49 billion units valued at RM2.25 billion from ...
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): The FBM KLCI fell 1.99 points or 0.1% on profit-taking as investors eyed the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision at the conclusion of its two-day meeting today.
Analysts said the KLCI's decline was driven by profit taking amid uncertainty over whether the US would hike interest rates. Higher US rates do not bode well for Asian markets in anticipation that investors will shift their money into US dollar-denominated assets.
"The KLCI is down amid the looming decision by the Fed on the US interest rate. The consensus is that there will be a hike, which could drive outflows in emerging markets like Malaysia," an analyst who requested anonymity told theedgemarkets.com.
At 5pm, the KLCI pared losses at 1,643.29 points. Earlier, the index declined to its intraday low at 1,639.93 points.
Bursa Malaysia saw 1.44 billion shares worth RM1.64 billion exchanged. Decliners outnumbered gainers at 362 against 314 respectively.
Earlier today, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said in a note that while profit-taking in the KLCI could continue this week, the research firm expected the index to rise as the year-end approaches.
"We still expect the KLCI to trend higher towards 1,650 to 1,665 by end-December, in anticipation of year-end window dressing activities, coupled with the potential election catalyst," Hong Leong said.
Source: The Edge
Comments
Post a Comment