MONEY MASTER

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 29): The FBM KLCI fell 2.48 points or 0.1% as Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd and Public Bank Bhd dropped among Bursa Malaysia's top decliners on foreign selling. TA Securities Holdings Bhd senior technical analyst Stephen Soo said there seemed to be selling pressure on Malaysian blue-chip stocks on US interest rate hike and tax cut cues. “The foreign selling (in Malaysian shares) happens because investors’ mood or sentiment is damaged by the (US) fed funds (rate) announcement, Soo told theedgemarkets.com. The US interest rate is also known as federal funds rate. At Bursa Malaysia, the KLCI ended at 1,755.58 points at 5pm. The KLCI had earlier fallen sharply to its intraday low at 1,753 points on Hong Leong Financial and Public Bank share losses. At 5pm, Hong Leong Financial fell 20 sen to close at RM16.60 while Public Bank dropped 14 sen to RM20.44 to become Bursa Malaysia's third and fourth largest decliners respectively. ...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 28): The FBM KLCI dropped 6.18 points or 0.4% mainly on late selling of index-constituent Genting Bhd shares. Malaysian equities have seen foreign selling on US interest rate hike and tax cut cues. At 5pm, the KLCI ended at 1,758.06 points while Genting shares fell three sen to RM9.48. In currency markets, the ringgit weakened to 4.2310 versus the US dollar at 5:22pm. “It (Malaysian shares) was down since last week on foreign selling factor. Investors’ sentiment will definitely get affected from this. "At the moment, the US dollar is strengthening against the ringgit," Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd research head Pong Teng Siew told theedgemarkets.com. Reuters reported that the dollar and US bond yields rose on Thursday after President Donald Trump proposed the biggest US tax overhaul in three decades and as strong US economic data supported the case for a Federal Reserve rate hike later this year. Trump offered to lower corporate income tax rates, c...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 27): The FBM KLCI lost 1.35 points or 0.1% as foreign selling of Malaysian stocks continued on expectation of U.S. interest rate hikes. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,764.24 points. U.S. interest rate hikes do not bode well for Asian markets, in anticipation investors will shift their money into US dollar-based assets. “We are still at the selling stage. We will see how bad it gets, my guess is foreign selling will not slow down anytime soon,” Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd research head Pong Teng Siew told theedgemarkets.com. Pong said foreign funds have been selling Malaysian equities since last week, as they took a cautious approach on the U.S.' impending quantitative drawdown and possible interest rate hikes. Reuters reported markets were put on notice by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who used a Tuesday speech to warn that it would be "imprudent" to keep policy on hold until inflation is back at 2%. She said ...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 26): The FBM KLCI fell 3.55 points or 0.2% after North Korea's statement saying US President Donald Trump has declared war on North Korea, rattled global markets. Reuters reported North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho as saying Trump's Twitter comments, in which the U.S. leader said Ri and leader Kim Jong Un "won't be around much longer" if they acted on their threats, amounted to a declaration of war and that Pyongyang had the right to take countermeasures. It was reported that the White House disputed the declaration, calling the suggestion "absurd". In Malaysia, the KLCI closed at 1,765.59 points, after falling to its intraday low at 1,761.21 points. Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com that the US-North Korea "geopolitical tension" had affected market sentiment. “(In Malaysia), there is selling pressure on renewed foreign fund outflow," Leong...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 25): The FBM KLCI ended in negative territory for the fifth consecutive trading session today, on continued selling by foreign funds. The benchmark index ended the day 1.90 points or 0.11% lower at 1769.14. On the broader market, there were 558 decliners versus 264 advancers, while 412 counters finished unchanged. Some 2.46 billion shares, worth RM2.36 billion were traded. “There has been unwinding of foreign funds and they have been selling for the past few days,” said Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong. “(The decline) is because of profit-taking as well, but only mild, in selective banking companies such as RHB Bank Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd and AMMB Holdings Bhd,” Leong told theedgemarkets.com when contacted. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 close up 0.50%, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.35%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng decreased by 1.36%. Reuters reported the Nikkei share average rose as a weaker yen lifted ...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 21): The FBM KLCI closed down 2.54 points today at 1,771.04 as its constituent stocks ranked among the top losers for the day. Petronas Gas Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd and Hong Leong Industries Bhd were among the top losers. Also down was Genting Bhd, Genting Malaysia Bhd and Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd. Stocks have been trading in a tight range, but the market saw a sizable volume of 3.25 billion shares valued at RM2.41 billion, noted Pong Teng Siew, head of research at Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd noted. "There was heavy volume on some of the oil and gas counters, which are retreating on high volume after having made gains on similar volumes,” Pong told theedgemarkets.com Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd and UMW Oil and Gas Corp Bhd were the top two most active counters, followed by Trive Property Group Bhd. Meanwhile, semiconductor counters retook the limelight as top gainers with counters such as KESM Industries Bhd and...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 20): The FBM KLCI closed 3.08 points or 0.17% lower at 1,773.58 points today, weighed by declines at CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. AmInvestment Bank retail research vice president Lim Sai Wai told theedgemarkets.com that other than the drag from CIMB, the index was relatively flat today. "It's quite obvious it's because of CIMB, and it takes time for traders to digest the news," said Lim. He was referring to CIMB's confirmation that its Japanese shareholder Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) has sold its entire stake of 412 million shares, equivalent to a 4.6% stake in the group, via an overnight block trade. The banking group, however, did not say as to who the buyers were, nor how much the stake were sold for. On Bursa Malaysia, CIMB shares declined 15 sen or 2.32% to close at RM6.31, after dropping as low as RM6.22 earlier in the day. "Apart from that, the general market [is seeing] more losers, but the small ...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 19): The FBM KLCI slid 0.39% today, as renewed caution shadowed the market ahead of the two-day US Federal Reserve policy meeting, which will begin later today. On market close, the KLCI settled at 1,776.66 points, down seven points. Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com that the mood turned cautious as investors are waiting for updates from the Fed meet for clues on its plans to pare its balance sheet. The market has largely been in the negative zone throughout the trading day. "The lower liners were also in the negative, in tandem with the local board," said Leong. Across the board, Bursa Malaysia saw 2.01 billion shares worth RM1.92 billion traded. Decliners led gainers by 485 to 309. Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd topped the gainers list, closing 2.72% higher at RM38.50, while CIMB Group Holdings Bhd led the decliners as it fell 3.44% to close at RM6.46. Hubline Bhd was the m...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 18): The FBM KLCI was down on the first trading day after the Malaysia Day weekend, as local retail investors take a breather from the market. At 5pm, the KLCI was 2.67 points or 0.15% lower compared to Friday's close, to settle at 1,783.66 points. "Local retail investors are taking a break from the market. There isn't enough liquidity to keep in the market," Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd's head of research Pong Teng Siew told theedgemarkets.com. Pong stressed that the lack of liquidity in the market, as seen by lower bank deposits, is a cue that the market will be range bound for now. "I'm still quite positive on the market but with the lack of liquidity, retail investors will take profit now and then, which will cause the market to take periodic breaks," he added. The KLCI saw some 1.99 billion shares worth some RM1.61 billion traded today. Losers outnumbered gainers by 457 to 406, while 366 counte...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 15): The FBM KLCI ended on a positive note on the last trading day of this week, as investors were bargain hunting for blue chip stocks, despite a negative broader market. At 5pm, the KLCI climbed 0.3% higher than the previous day's close to settle at 1,786.33 points, 0.36% higher than its close of 1,779.90 points seen last Friday. "The improvement of the KLCI today is largely due to bargain hunting of major blue chip companies such as British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd. However, this is not an accurate picture of the broader market, which is still negative," a technical analyst at TA Securities Holdings Bhd told theedgemarkets.com. Meanwhile, oil and gas counters are seeing a little rebound. "The oil and gas sector is going through its rotational period and is seeing improvement in performance due to the increase in oil prices lately," he added. Oil players such as Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, Scomi Group Bhd, an...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 14): The FBM KLCI closed 4.7 points or 0.3% lower with Asian share markets after China reported weaker-than-expected economic data, which included factory output and retail sales growth. At 5pm, the KLCI settled at 1,781.37 points. In China, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite dropped 0.38%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.42%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.29%.   In Malaysia, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com: “The KLCI was trading mostly in negative territory today, in line with weakness across key regional indexes, due to China’s factory output and retail sales growth data, which came in below economists’ expectations.” Reuters reported China's factory output grew 6.0% in August from a year earlier, while fixed-asset investment expanded 7.8% in the first eight months, both well below economists' forecasts, data showed on Thursday. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted factory outpu...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 13): The FBM KLCI shed 3.79 points or 0.2% on profit taking after the index breached the 1,790-point level in intraday trade. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,786.07 points after rising to its intraday high at 1,793.22 points. The KLCI had earlier risen after the US' S&P 500 closed at a record high overnight on Tuesday. In Malaysia today, Maybank Investment Bank Bhd chartist Nik Ihsan Raja Abdullah told theedgemarkets.com that “the (KLCI's) lower performance is actually a healthy pullback for the market, as you can see that the trading volume remains strong at 2.7 billion shares. "The broader market is still positive.” Across Bursa Malaysia, the 2.7 bllion share-trade volume was worth RM1.85 billion. Decliners outnumbered gainers at 462 to 362 respectively. DBE Gurney Resources Bhd was the most-active stock. DBE shares closed 0.5 sen  higher at 3.5 sen with some 193 million units traded. Malaysian shares tracked overni...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 12): The FBM KLCI rose 7.12 points or 0.4% to its intraday high while share-trade volume across Bursa Malaysia climbed to 3.66 billion shares on foreign buying. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,789.86 points mainly on Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd's share price spike in the final trading minutes. Hong Leong Financial added 18 sen to RM17.24 to become Bursa Malaysia's eighth-largest gainer. “The KCLI’s performance today is spurred by the positive spillover effect from the S&P 500, which closed at its record high overnight (Monday), thereby, pushing the KLCI [further] into the positive,” Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com. Leong said there was "renewed buying interest today in the KLCI, particularly from foreign investors, resulting in fresh funds buying into the market." Across Bursa Malaysia, 3.66 billion shares valued at RM2.26 billion were traded. Gainers outnumbered decliners ...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 11): THE FBM KLCI closed 2.84 points or 0.2% higher today with Asian shares after North Korea refrained from missile launches during the 69th anniversary of North Korea’s founding on Saturday. In Malaysia today, investor confidence also grew amid improved performance of shares in downstream oil and gas-related companies like Hengyuan Refining Co Bhd, Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd and Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,782.74 points. “Investors are reacting to changes in direction of petrochemical and refining companies’ stocks,” Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd research head Pong Teng Siew told theedgemarkets.com. Hengyuan, Petron and Lotte were among Bursa Malaysia top gainers. Hengyuan closed 47 sen higher at RM8.21, Petron added 43 sen to RM9.83 while Lotte rose 26 sen to RM5.77. Across Bursa Malaysia, gainers outnumbered decliners at 502 and 312  respectively. A total of 2.73 billion s...

When I woke up today, I was caught astounded by an article on Bloomberg, relating to the China's bond market that is seeing higher default rates. Is this the new reality? If it is, I think there's every reasons to be cautious since China is the world's third largest bond market by value.  According to Bloomberg's article on  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-10/china-s-latest-bond-default-is-a-cautionary-tale-for-investors Wuyang Construction Group Co., a builder in the eastern province of Zhejiang, defaulted on two put-able notes totaling 1.36 billion yuan ($209 million) last month. Bondholders are now up in arms, claiming in an Aug. 23 filing posted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s website that the company didn’t disclose a raft of transgressions in sale documents for the bonds, which were sold in 2015. Three phone calls to Wuyang Constructions’ headquarters in Hangzhou went unanswered, and the company didn’t respond to a fax from Bloomber...

KUALA LUMPUR: Turnover rent structure has helped Hektar Real Estate Investment Trust (Hektar REIT) to manage rental pressures amid a weak retail environment coupled with the overbuilding of malls in the Klang Valley. Hektar Asset Management Sdn Bhd, the manager of Hektar REIT, said that while the average rental reversion measured on base rent was reduced by 7.1% in the first half of 2017, the lower base rent was covered by turnover rent. The base rent is a fixed initial rent that has been agreed upon while turnover rent depends on the annual turnover of the retail’s business. “When the tenants do well and their sales go up, then they can afford to pay more rent as a percentage of that (increased revenue),” said Hektar Asset Management chief executive officer Datuk Hisham Othman. “This structure also allowed us to monitor the performance of our tenants and by having their sales figures in hand, we can foresee the direction of where the business is heading,” H...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 8): The FBM KLCI saw a modest pullback today on profit taking, erasing gains accumulated over the past two trading days. The benchmark index closed the day 3.08 points or 0.17% lower at 1,779.90. It opened at 1,781.07 points and moved between 1,775.06 and 1,782.81. Malacca Securities head of research Victor Wan said the index's retreat was a "healthy pullback", as gains in the market, which largely reflected the positive economic outlook, were overdone. "There are very few catalysts at this point, as the market has gone up by about 8% year-to-date. The gains were overdone so it is expected that the market pulls back today," Wan told theedgemarkets.com. On the broader market, however, gainers outpaced decliners by 473 to 384 while 404 counters were unchanged. Trading volume rose to 2.97 billion shares worth RM2.27 billion, from 2.63 billion shares valued at RM2.41 billion yesterday. Red chip company Sino Hua-An Int...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 7): The FBM KLCI jumped 10.5 points or 0.6% mainly on index-linked British American Tobacco (M) Bhd's (BAT) share price spike in the final trading minutes. Analysts said the KLCI had also risen on Malaysia's 14th General Election's (14th GE) timing speculation. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,782.98 points while Bursa Malaysia top gainer BAT added RM1.46 to RM44.60. “It’s very much linked to the 14th GE. It was the case during the late 2012 and early 2013. It’s almost like a replay,” Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd  research head Pong Teng Siew told theedgemarkets.com. Malaysia held its 13th GE on May 5, 2013. Today, the KLCI also rose on KLCI- and Malaysian Government-linked Tenaga Nasional's share gains. Tenaga added 16 sen to close at RM14.56. Across Bursa Malaysia, 2.63 billion shares worth RM2.41 billion were traded. Gainers outpaced decliners at 504 against 299 respectively. The most-active stocks included Olympia Ind...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 6): Malaysian stocks bucked regional trend to finish higher today, as bargain hunting helped the market to recover from yesterday's fall. The FBM KLCI closed 0.16% or 2.85 points higher at 1,772.48. The market traded between an intra-day high of 1,772.62 and a low of 1,767.07 today. Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong said while the KLCI opened lower today, bargain-hunting activities in selected heavyweights pushed the benchmark index higher. "It is also probably because of the stronger ringgit and higher crude oil prices that pushed the key index upward," he told theedgemarkets.com. Leong said trading volume is at a healthy 2 billion range since yesterday, indicating fresh money coming into the market. However, trading volume fell to 2.21 billion shares worth RM1.81 billion compared with yesterday's 2.53 billion shares worth RM2.18 billion. Market breadth was positive with 407 gainers compared with 377 l...

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 5): The FBM KLCI closed 3.53 points or 0.2% lower on profit taking amid concerns over the US and North Korea's geopolitical tension. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,769.63 points. Last Wednesday (Aug 30), the KLCI rose 12.02 points to end at 1,773.16 points. Malaysian markets resumed trading today following a break since Thursday (Aug 31). Malaysian markets were closed for National Day on Thursday and Hari Raya Haji on Friday (Sept 1). In an unexpected move, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had last week declared that yesterday (Sept 4) would be a public holiday following Malaysia's stellar performance at the 29th SEA Games. Today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com that despite the KLCI opening in the green, quick profit taking sent the index lower for most of the trading session due to the US- North Korea geopolitical tension. Reuters reported that North Korea on Sunday condu...