KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed almost flat on Tuesday as buying interest rotated away from index heavyweights towards smaller-cap construction stocks, with sentiment affected by geopolitical uncertainty, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.39 of a point to 1,714.40 from Monday’s close of 1,714.79. The benchmark index opened 1.65 points lower at 1,713.14 and moved between 1,710.44 and 1,714.50 throughout the trading session. The broader market was almost evenly balanced, with decliners leading gainers 548 to 546, while 598 counters were unchanged, 1,107 were untraded and 25 were suspended. Turnover expanded to 4.13 billion units valued at RM3.14 billion from 3.60 billion units valued at RM2.45 billion on Monday.
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): The FBM KLCI rose 11.94 points or 0.7% as Japan shares rose substantially on a weaker yen.
At Bursa Malaysia, the KLCI settled at 1,647.47 points on gains in stocks like Sime Darby Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd. Bursa Malaysia saw 1.98 billion shares, worth RM1.65 billion traded.
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 2.51% as a weaker yen led to expectation of higher earnings for exporters. Reuters reported Japan's Nikkei share average started 2017 trading on a strong note on Wednesday, as investors cheered upbeat global economic data released during Japan's holidays, and a weaker yen boosted exporters.
In Malaysia, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior research executive Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com that the KLCI's movement today was in line with key regional indices.
Leong said "there is still upside in the KLCI, premised on higher crude palm oil (CPO) and crude oil prices”.
Such CPO price sentiment followed the ringgit's depreciation today to a fresh one-year level against the U.S. dollar at 4.5002. At 5:27pm, the ringgit was traded at 4.4975 against the U.S. dollar.
A weaker ringgit makes Malaysian CPO more competitive in world markets, hence anticipation of higher demand for the commodity.
Source: The Edge

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