KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed lower on Friday amid mixed regional market performance as investors turned cautious over a possible rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and upcoming US economic data that may influence the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate decision next week. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) pared most earlier losses to settle 4.55 points easier, or 0.28 per cent, to 1,616.52 from Thursday’s close of 1,621.07. The benchmark index, which opened 0.37 of-a-point lower at 1,620.70, moved between 1,609.67 and 1,621.25 throughout the day. The broader market was negative, with decliners outpacing advancers 604 to 439. A total of 550 counters were unchanged, 1,151 untraded, and 18 suspended. Turnover declined to 3.17 billion units worth RM2.24 billion from 4.48 billion units worth RM2.75 billion yesterday. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-presiden...
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, and Bumi Armada Bhd were among the top active counters today.
The KLCI saw some 2.15 billion shares worth some RM2.7 billion exchanging hands today. Losers outnumbered gainers at 447 versus 379, while 402 counters were unchanged.
BAT topped the gainers list, closing 1.1% higher at RM44.10, while Magni-Tech Industries Bhd dominated the decliners, shedding 15.62% to settle at RM6.16.
Reuters reported that North Korea's missile launch caused investors to worry but did not trigger the level of risk aversion seen last week.
Across Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 0.52% higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.11%. South Korea's KOSPI climbed 0.35%.
Source: The Edge

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