KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed marginally lower on Friday, as cautious sentiment persisted, with investors remaining on the sidelines amid ongoing conflicts in West Asia, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.80 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 1,695.50 from Thursday’s close of 1,698.30. The benchmark index opened 5.82 points higher at 1,704.12, and moved between 1,693.65 and 1,708.12 throughout the day. However, market breadth remained positive, with gainers outnumbering losers 634 to 415, while 521 counters were unchanged, 1,077 untraded and 10 suspended. Turnover improved to 3.38 billion units worth RM2.95 billion from yesterday’s 3.20 billion units worth RM3.50 billion.
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 forms a a crucial portion of the Malaysian economy.
Reuters reported that oil prices rose on Thursday, lifted by strong data from top importer China amid thin trading activity ahead of the New Year weekend. Brent crude futures were at US$66.68 a barrel, up 24 cents or 0.4 percent. Brent broke through US$67 earlier this week, the first time since May 2015 this week.
Source: The Edge

Comments
Post a Comment