MONEY MASTER

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 29): The FBM KLCI gained 17.71 points or 1% after an 11th-hour share price spike in index-linked KLCCP Stapled Group and Sime Darby Plantation Bhd pushed the 30-stock KLCI higher. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at its intraday high at 1,796.81 points for a year-to-date gain of 9.45%. Today is the final trading day for Malaysian markets in 2017 as investors look ahead to 2018 next week. Today, KLCCP added 83 sen to RM8.64 while Sime Darby Plantation rose 52 sen to RM6. KLCCP and Sime Darby Plantation were Bursa Malaysia's fourth and sixth largest gainers respectively. It is worth noting that property companies SP Setia Bhd and Capitaland Malaysia Mall Trust (CMMT) were also major gainers. SP Setia was the fifth largest gainer after its share price increased 64 sen to RM4. CMMT gained 41 sen to RM1.83 to become the eighth largest advancer. Across Bursa Malaysia, trading volume was 3.14 billion shares worth RM2.77 billion. Kenanga Investmen...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 28): The FBM KLCI added 7.34 points or 0.4% buoyed by buying interest in index-linked stocks including Tenaga Nasional Bhd and Hong Leong Bank Bhd. The ringgit strengthened as crude oil prices rose. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,779.10 points following yesterday's 11.77 point gain. Today, Tenaga and Hong Leong Bank added 30 sen each to finish at RM15.42 and RM17 respectively. “It seems like our market is playing catch-up with the region, especially with the strengthening of the ringgit and oil price currently up at this level," Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of research Vincent Lau told theedgemarkets.com. Across Bursa Malaysia, trading volume was 2.64 billion shares worth RM2.1 billion. Tenaga and Hong Leong Bank were the sixth and seventh best performers respectively across the exchange. At the time of writing, the ringgit strengthened to 4.0667 against the US dollar. The ringgit tracks crude oil prices as the commodity...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): The FBM KLCI was flat at the closing bell on the first trading day after the Christmas break as investors had been away for the year-end holiday. The benchmark index — which opened on a softer note at 1,758.51 points — slipped to its intraday low of 1753.25 points before it closed at 1,759.99, 0.25 points lower against last Friday’s closing. Trading volume, however, was higher today at 2.07 billion shares with a total transaction value of RM1.6 billion, compared with 1.64 billion shares worth RM1.55 billion logged last Friday. Market breadth was negative with 489 decliners, 387 advancers, and 374 counters which traded unchanged on Bursa. Across the board, top gainers included Hengyuan Refining Co Bhd, which hit a record high of RM15.40, PPB Group Bhd and Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd; while top losers were led by consumer stocks Nestle (M) Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd and Ajinomoto (M) Bhd. With the festive season and...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 22): Ahead of the long Christmas weekend break, the FBM KLCI rose 0.52%, tracking regional markets amid shared optimism over the US tax reform, and as Bank Negara Malaysia reported a rise in international reserves. As the market closed at 5pm, the leading composite index settled 9.03 points higher at 1,760.24 points Socio-Economic Research Centre executive director Lee Heng Guie said the market was likely buoyed by the US tax reform, which is expected to lead to steady US economic growth and stronger corporate earnings. "This could mean there [is anticipation of] less risks or headwinds from external forces, and the positive sentiment should last till year end, and hopefully carry through to 2018. "The ringgit is steady and our latest foreign reserves of US$102.2 billion is a good number. So investors' sentiment is lifted," he told theedgemarkets.com. However, he cautioned investors to be wary instead of complacent, wh...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 21): The FBM KLCI gained 4.58 points or 0.3%, mainly on late buying of Petronas Gas Bhd shares amid fund managers' extended window dressing activities. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,751.21 points. Petronas Gas rose 58 sen to RM16.96 to become Bursa Malaysia's biggest gainer. Across Bursa Malaysia, decliners outweighed gainers at 440 to 375 respectively. Trading volume was 2.48 billion shares worth RM2.06 billion. Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior research analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com that the KLCI benefitted from fund managers' extended window dressing particularly on Petronas-related counters like Petronas Gas and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd. “We expect the market to be muted moving into the post-Christmas holiday period as investors lock in their profits. We were seeing some of them doing so today judging from the negative market breadth,” Leong said. Across Asian share markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 20): The FBM KLCI closed 9.68 points or 0.6% higher, led by CIMB Group Holdings Bhd share gains and amid fund managers' year-end window dressing. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,746.63 points. CIMB added 23 sen or 3.68% to RM6.48 with some 16 million shares traded. CIMB was the largest gainer in percentage terms among the 30 KLCI-linked stocks. "Hopefully the window dressing would sustain (the KLCI) until the end of the year,” Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd head of retail research Loui Low told theedgemarkets.com. Across Bursa Malaysia, the exchange saw 444 gainers versus 365 decliners. Trading volume was 2.53 billion shares worth RM2.26 billion. Top gainer was Hartalega Holdings Bhd while the biggest decliner was British American Tobacco (M) Bhd. Malaysian shares rose as global investors anticipated the US' tax reform to be approved on Wednesday. Reuters reported that world stock markets wavered just below recent record hig...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 19): The FBM KLCI closed 14.69 points or 0.8% lower as investors took profit amid fund managers' window dressing. At 5pm, the KLCI settled at 1,736.95 points. The KLCI remained in negative territory for the entire day. “There is some serious profit-taking going on today in the market, coupled with the window-dressing activities previously. It seems that the market will normalise after this sell-off to finish between the range of 1,700 points and 1,730 points by year-end,” TA Securities Holdings Bhd senior technical analyst Stephen Soo told theedgemarkets.com. From a fundamental viewpoint, Reuters quoted MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd research head Redza Rahman as saying: "There is concern that with the rate hike in the US, cheap funds might flow out of the country (Malaysia)." Across Bursa Malaysia today, there were 530 decliners and 306 advancers. Trading volume, was 3.18 billion shares worth RM2.91 billion. Yesterday, ...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 18): The FBM KLCI declined 1.43 points or 0.1% as investors took profit after the KLCI's substantial rise last week pushed the index into overbought territory. At 5pm today, the KLCI closed at 1,751.64 points. On Friday (Dec 15), the KLCI fell 13.35 points to 1,748.5 points. On Thursday, the KLCI rose 21.34 points to close at 1,759 points on banking stock gains amid fund managers' year-end window dressing. Today, TA Securities Holdings Bhd wrote in a note: "Last week's rally spike on the FBM KLCI to a two-month high lifted daily momentum indicators into deeply overbought territory, suggesting profit taking is needed to consolidate short-term gains and neutralise excessive overbought momentum." Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew told theedgemarkets.com that although foreign funds are coming back into the Malaysian stock market, they may not buy local shares every day. "There ...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): The FBM KLCI came down by as much as 0.76% or 13.35 points today as investors took profit after three days of gains. At market close, the benchmark index pared some losses to close at 1,753.07, down 5.93 points or 0.34% from yesterday. "After rising by almost 40 points since Monday's close, we saw profit-taking activities across the board today," said Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior research analyst Kenneth Leong. "This is in tandem with key regional indices, which were affected by uncertainties over US tax overhaul implementation," Leong told theedgemarkets.com. He expects the KLCI to move between 1,740 and 1,760 points in the near term. Asian shares erased earlier modest gains with sentiment dented by Wall Street's weakness on concerns about the progress of US tax reform, though regional stocks remain on track for a weekly rise, Reuters reported. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.62% and Hong Kong's Ha...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): The FBM KLCI rose 21.34 points or 1.23%, lifted by banking stocks amid fund managers' year-end window dressing.   At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,759 points as Public Bank Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd and Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd ended among Bursa Malaysia top gainers. Bursa Malaysia's finance index rose 387.95 points or 2.38% to 16,656.80 points. Across Bursa Malaysia, there were 540 gainers versus 331 decliners. Trading volume was 2.43 billion shares worth RM3.26 billion. CIMB Investment Bank Bhd analyst Nick Foo Mun Pang told theedgemarkets.com: "Year-end window dressing will continue to lift KLCI in the near term. Market breadth was very strong today as well. Our immediate (KLCI) resistant level is 1,770 points, immediate support is 1,750 points." "The sentiment was good as well, especially in the afternoon after The World Bank upgraded (its 2017) Malaysia gross domestic product (growth forecast) to 5.8%,...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 13): The FBM KLCI finished 8.09 points or 0.5% higher, possibly on fund managers' year-end window dressing ahead of the US interest rate decision today. Malaysian shares had tracked Asian equity gains after US stocks closed at record highs overnight on Tuesday. At 5pm today, the KLCI settled at 1,737.66 points as index-linked stocks Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd and Genting Bhd rose among Bursa Malaysia top gainers. "It is quite obvious that there are some forms of window dressing happening today, as there seems to be no particular positive news going on," a remisier told theedgemarkets.com. FXTM research analyst Lukman Otunuga wrote in a note today: "Much attention will be directed towards the (US) FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) policy statement on Wednesday, which has the ability to impact gold's trajectory this week. While it is widely expected that the Federal Reserve will be raising US interest rates, much...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 12): The Malaysian stock market closed higher today, led by blue chip stocks as foreign funds went bargain hunting. The benchmark FBM KLCI ended the day at an intra-day high of 1,729.57 points, up 10.1 points or 0.59% from yesterday's closing. The index moved between 1,717.32 and 1,729.57 throughout the day. Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew told theedgemarkets.com that he expects the KLCI to continue its rising trend this week. "The increase today was within our expectation and we are optimistic that it will continue this week, generally due to strong foreign fund inflow, and their focus seems to be around the blue chips," he said. "The reason for them to be here again was likely to be relative valuation, the same reason they left for Thai market earlier this year in September. Now the Thai market seems to be more expensive than the Malaysian market," Pong added. Trading volume rose ...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 11): The FBM KLCI closed 1.78 points or 0.1% lower as European funds sold Malaysian shares and as investors looked ahead to crucial Malaysian economic and industrial data. Tomorrow, Malaysia's Statistics Department will announce the nation's October industrial output numbers. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board is also scheduled to announce the industry's November output and inventory data. At 5pm today, the KLCI settled at 1,719.47 points. "We heard from brokers that some European funds were selling in the afternoon today. It was just normal portfolio adjustment," Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong told theedgemarkets.com. Across Bursa Malaysia, there were 410 gainers versus 398 decliners. A total of 1.65 billion shares were traded for RM1.97 billion. Malaysian shares had bucked Asian shares' rise. Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 0.56% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.14%. Earlier today, Re...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 8): The FBM KLCI gained on market close on Friday as stronger-than-expected China trade data helped boost regional and local market sentiment, pushing the benchmark index up week-on-week. At 5pm, KLCI was up 2.2 points or 0.13% from yesterday's close to end at 1,721.25 points, after ranging between 1,718.88 points and 1,724.59 points throughout the day. It was 3.39 points or 0.2% higher than the 1,717.86 points it settled at last Thursday (Nov 30). CIMB Research’s analyst Nick Foo Mun Pang, however, said the KLCI rebound is not strong as market breadth remains negative. “For the whole week, losers still outnumbered gainers, and this scenario may persist in the near term. Investors are cautious ahead of US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision,” he told theedgemarkets.com over the phone. There were 490 losers versus 327 gainers on Bursa Malaysia today, while 401 counters remained unchanged. The local exchange saw ...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): Malaysian stocks rebounded into positive territory today as foreign investors make their gradual return to Bursa Malaysia. The benchmark FBM KLCI opened higher at 1,721.71 points to hit an intraday high of 1,723.40 in early trade, before closing up 0.72 points or 0.04% at 1,719.05. Market breadth was negative with 455 decliners, 388 advancers and 405 counters traded unchanged on Bursa. Trading volume rose to 1.8 billion shares worth RM2.51 billion compared with Wednesday's 1.58 billion shares worth RM2.26 billion. Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew said the local stock market eked out a slight gain today as foreign funds gradually made their way back to the market. "Local investors were also able to see the difference in the gains in index that would be a big boost to their confidence," he told theedgemarkets.com. Pong said the rebound was mainly driven by the blue-chip counters on the KLCI...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 6): Malaysian stocks finished lower today in line with the slide in most regional markets. The FBM KLCI was down 6.51 points or 0.38% at 1,718.33, dragged by index-linked key blue chips. Market breadth was negative with 431 decliners, 346 advancers and 448 counters unchanged on Bursa Malaysia. Trading volume fell to 1.58 billion shares worth RM2.26 billion compared with Tuesday's 1.84 billion shares worth RM2.23 billion. Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong said the KLCI closed in negative territory today in tandem with the regional markets due to the sell-off in technology shares. “The weaknesses are in tandem with regional key indices. We did see some weaknesses in the banking counters like Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLBB), Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (HLFG) and Malayan Banking Bhd today, which contributed to the weakness in KLCI. “Other blue chips, most of them are also in negative sentiment mainly due to quick s...

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 24): The FBM KLCI made an about-turn to close up 0.7% today, as investors' sentiments lifted the market following the wrap-up of the improved third-quarter corporate earnings season, while the ringgit strengthened 0.1% to RM4.2332 to US dollar. The benchmark index closed 11.71 points higher at 1724.84 points, after 1.84 billion shares were transacted for a total value of RM2.23 billion. In contrast, the index was at 1712.85 during the afternoon, down 0.28 points from the closing level of 1713.13 yesterday, after reaching an intra-morning low of 1,708.48 points. Areka Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong expects the index to hover at its latest price level for the next two weeks, pending the restrategising of portfolios by fund managers on the last week of December. The benchmark index's performance reflects 3Q17 results, he said, which were much better than 2Q as most came out above expectations, amid improving o...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 4): The FBM KLCI spent the day in negative territory as funds appear to have sold in order to readjust their portfolios following Bursa Malaysia’s semi-annual review of the index. The benchmark index closed 4.73 points or 0.28% lower at 1,713.13. Funds, especially those which are index-linked, may have contributed to the heavy selling today as they readjusted their holdings to reflect the new components of the index, said Pong Teng Siew, head of research at Inter Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd. IJM Corp Bhd and Sime Darby Property Bhd, which are among the two counters that will be losing their places in the component stocks list, were the top decliners among the index’s movers. Across the bourse, a total of 1.8 billion shares were crossed today for a total value of RM2.57 billion. Decliners trumped gainers with a 3-to-1 ratio, led by Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Allianz Malaysia Bhd and Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd. The most actively trad...