MONEY MASTER

KUALA LUMPUR (May 30): The FBM KLCI fell 56.56 points or 3.18% with Asia shares as investors took cue from Italy's political crisis. Malaysian construction stocks fell after the Government said it decided to scrap the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (KL-Singapore HSR) and Malaysia's third mass rapid transit (MRT3) projects. At Bursa Malaysia, the KLCI closed at 1,719.28 after declining to its intraday low at 1,709.51. Bursa Malaysia's small-cap and construction indices dropped 3.37% and 10.88% respectively. Across Bursa Malaysia, volume was 3.6 billion shares valued at RM4.46 billion as construction stocks ended among the top decliners and most-active list. Top decliners included Gamuda Bhd, which fell 95 sen to RM3.18. The most-active list included YTL Corp Bhd whose shares dropped nine sen to 93 sen. Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng told theedgemarkets.com: “Due to this uncertainly (after Malaysia scr...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 24): The FBM KLCI fell 28.59 points or 1.6% as foreign selling of Malaysian shares persisted and investors evaluated the new Malaysian Government's policies. The evaluation has led to expectations that credit rating agencies may revise their ratings for the country amid concerns on the nation's debt management. Malaysian shares could have also taken cue from the US' national security investigation into car and truck imports. Reuters reported that Asian shares fell on Thursday after the US government launched a national security probe into car imports that could lead to new tariffs, and President Donald Trump's comments suggested setbacks in US-China trade talks. At Bursa Malaysia, the KLCI closed at 1,775.66 points on losses in KLCI-linked stocks including Malayan Banking Bhd and Public Bank Bhd. On the KLCI, TA Securities Holdings Bhd senior technical analyst Stephen Soo said TA expects the market downturn to be a short-...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 23): The FBM KLCI fell 40.78 points or 2.21% to close at its intraday low on foreign selling of Malaysian shares on expectation credit rating agencies may revise their ratings for the country. Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd head of retail research Loui Low told theedgemarkets.com such sentiment was due to a confluence of factors, which include concerns on the nation's debt management and a possible shortfall in tax collection after the government announced that the goods and services tax rate will be reduced from 6% to 0% effective June 1 this year. Today, Low said. “I think it is a matter of expectations versus execution now." He added that corporate results have also dampened investor sentiment. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,804.25 points. Across Bursa Malaysia, volume stood at 2.69 billion shares valued at RM3.34 billion. Several KLCI component counters fell among Bursa Malaysia top decliners. Axiata Group Bhd fell 64 sen to R...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 22): The FBM KLCI fell 8.55 points or 0.5% as investors took cue from Malaysian corporate financial results during the current reporting season. These include financial results from KLCI-linked companies Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,845.03 points. TM dropped 50 sen to RM4.20 while Petronas Chemicals fell 27 sen to RM8.43. Public Investment Bank Bhd head of research Ching Weng Jin told theedgemarkets.com: "Investors are now closely monitoring the delivery of promises by the new (Malaysian) government, and the delivery of results by the corporates." Across Bursa Malaysia, volume stood at 2.36 billion shares worth RM2.74 billion. Top decliners included TM, Tenaga Nasional Bhd and Petronas Chemicals. The most-active stocks included YTL Power International Bhd, which saw some 63 million shares traded. YTL Power closed 4.5 sen lower at 77.5 sen. Source: The Edge ...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 21): The FBM KLCI fell 0.92 point on profit taking in 11th-hour volatile trade after rising earlier with Asian shares. Earlier, Reuters reported that world stocks rose on Monday after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declared the US-China trade war "on hold" following their agreement to suspend the tariff threats that roiled global markets this year. At Bursa Malaysia, the KLCI closed lower at 1,853.58 points at 5pm after rising to its intraday high of 1,864.94 points. The KLCI ended weaker after losses in index-linked stocks including Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. Across Bursa Malaysia, volume stood at 2.78 billion shares valued at RM3.05 billion. Hong Leong Financial, Tenaga and CIMB ended among Bursa Malaysia's top decliners. CIMB, which fell 20 sen to RM6.60 today, has been closely watched as investors evaluated the company's outlook after Malaysia Prime Minister...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 18): The FBM KLCI ended the day 0.06 points higher as investors continued to remain cautious on the changes that took place over the week. Foreign selling was also observed to have tapered off. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,854.50 points with more losers than gainers. Volume stood at 2.92 billion shares worth RM3.16 billion. The KLCI closed lower after rising to its intraday high of 1,862.19 points. The most active counters included My E.G. Services Bhd and Sapura Energy Bhd. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd Head of Research Kenny Yee, told theedgemarkets.com, “There are more losers than gainers, investors are still jittery. People are waiting for announcements, especially relating to construction projects and therefore we may see uncertainty on those stocks for a while.” Highway concessionaire stocks such as Lingkaran Trans Kota Holdings Bhd (Litrak) fell 26% after Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, a member of the Council of Eminent Persons, sai...

  KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): The FBM KLCI fell 3.82 points or 0.2% on  profit taking in the final trading minutes and as markets adjusted to the new Malaysian government under Pakatan Harapan. Fund managers said there was foreign selling of local shares. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,854.44 points after investors sold KLCI-linked stocks Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd and AMMB Holdings Bhd. Other KLCI-linked decliners included Telekom Malaysia Bhd and YTL Corp Bhd. The KLCI closed lower after rising to its intraday high at 1,867.09 points. Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng said the market still needs time to digest new policies by the new Malaysian government. Wong said there was still foreign selling of local shares as foreign investors do not like uncertainty. “They have been reducing some of their stocks. This may be due to uncertainty in the Malaysian market which they do not like. However it may also be due to ex...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 16): The FBM KLCI rose 10.06 points or 0.5% today as investors cheered and evaluated the progress of reforms in Malaysia after Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad-led Pakatan Harapan's win in the country's 14th General Election (GE14) last Wednesday. Today, the KLCI closed at 1,858.26 following news that jailed former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was granted a full pardon. Investors could have also responded to Dr Mahathir's statement that Malaysia is committed to pay any debt linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd, if the debt has been guaranteed by the government. Malaysia's GST also made headlines today. The Finance Ministry said it will reduce the GST rate from 6% to 0% effective June 1 this year. In a statement, the Ministry said it has decided that goods and services within Malaysia and those imported from abroad, which incur GST of 6%, will see the rate reduced to 0% from June 1 this year throughout t...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 15): The FBM KLCI dropped 2.22 points or 0.1% after investors took profit in the final trading minutes. Investors took profit following the KLCI's rise as they evaluated Malaysia's outlook after Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad-led Pakatan Harapan's win in the country's 14th General Election. At 5pm today, the KLCI ended at 1,848.20 points after investors sold KLCI-linked Public Bank Bhd shares at the 11th hour. Public Bank shares fell 80 sen to close at RM24 to become Bursa Malaysia's third-largest decliner. The KLCI had also declined on losses in stocks including YTL Corp Bhd and Genting Bhd. The KLCI closed lower after rising to its intraday high at 1,860.59 points today. Yesterday, the KLCI climbed 3.91 points to 1,850.42 points. Today, Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew told theedgemarkets.com: “Investors were doing some last-minute profit taking. The breadth in the market was t...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 14): Malaysian stocks closed slightly higher today, after a kneejerk reaction that saw Barisan Nasional (BN)-related stocks decline in early trade, when the market reopened after a three-day break that saw the opposition alliance winning a historic victory in the 14th General Election. The FBM KLCI ended the day 3.91 points or 0.21% higher at 1,850.42 points today, with market players anticipating the benchmark index to scale higher in the near term and stay above its resistance level of 1,880-point, taking cues from the rising crude palm oil and crude oil prices. “We expect the market to remain strong and the sentiment to continue over the near term premises to the new rules and regulations set by the new government, together with the higher crude palm oil and crude oil prices,” Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com via telephone. Oil and gas (O&G)-related counters dominated the list of most ...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 8): Malaysian stocks closed higher today as market participants gear up for the 14th General Election tomorrow, billed as the "mother of all elections". After being in the red for four consecutive days, the benchmark FBM KLCI closed up 18.31 points or 1% at 1,846.51, supported by gains in banking stocks. The index was trading in the range of 1,819.28 to 1,851.73 points. Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng told theedgemarkets.com that he is "equally surprise" at the gains on Bursa Malaysia today. "After a few days of foreign selling, selling pressure is gone for the purpose of political risk management," said Wong, adding that the gains could be due to institutional buying. Meanwhile, Frank Lin, a dealer's representative at Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd, opined that the reversed trend today could be due to the general public sentiment that "the incumbent government or Ba...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 7): The FBM KLCI closed 13.63 points or 0.7% lower amid cautious sentiment ahead of Malaysia's 14th General Election (GE14) on Wednesday. At 5pm, the KLCI settled at 1,828.2 points after trading between 1,821.79 and 1,842.56 points. Bursa Malaysia's small-cap index dropped 183.26 points or 1.26% to settle at 14,392.40 points. “Everyone is looking and focusing at the GE14 outcome," Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd head of retail research Loui Low told theedgemarkets.com. Across Bursa Malaysia, 1.92 billion shares worth RM2.1 billion were traded. KLCI-linked Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) and Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd were the KLCI's leading decliners in percentage terms. TM shares closed 3.1% lower at RM5 while Astro fell 2.22% to RM1.76. Source: The Edge

KUALA LUMPUR (May 4): The FBM KLCI fell 9.97 points or 0.5% to close at its intraday low today as investor risk appetite weakened ahead of Malaysia's 14th General Election (GE14) polling day on Wednesday (May 9, 2018). At 5pm today, the KLCI finished at 1,841.83 points as KLCI-linked banking stocks CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd and Public Bank Bhd fell among Bursa Malaysia top decliners. Across Bursa Malaysia, trading volume was 1.61 billion shares worth RM2.12 billion. Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew told theedgemarkets.com : “It was a very ‘down’ trading day, no one seems to be prepared to take fresh positions. There are no big moves in the index stocks, and active stocks too were mostly down than up." Pong said investor sentiment was dampened ahead GE14. According to him, expectations are that a win for Barisan Nasional (BN) would mean a surge in the stock market. Today, Malaysian s...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 3): The FBM KLCI closed 0.23 points or 0.01% lower along with regional peers. Reuters reported that Asian shares slipped on Thursday as hopes waned for real progress in Sino-US trade talks, while the US dollar consolidated recent bumper gains after the Federal Reserve reaffirmed the outlook for more rate hikes. Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng told theedgemarkets.com that the KLCI closed slightly lower or flat mainly because most of the market is also on the downside, but still supported by a few bluechips such as Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd and KLCC Stapled Group. “Souring the mood were reports the Trump administration is considering executive action to restrict some Chinese companies’ ability to sell telecoms equipment in the US,” the newswire said, adding that talks between US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He are due to kick off later on Thursday. At Burs...

  KUALA LUMPUR (May 2): The FBM KLCI fell 18.34 points or 0.98% today, as investors turn cautious in anticipation of US Federal Reserve's policy decision, while awaiting US jobs data for fresh cues. At 5pm, the benchmark index slid to 1,852.03 points, though the small-cap index held firm with a marginal 0.05-point slip, ending the day at 14,579.9 points. "I think it is rotational. Fund managers have possibly repositioned themselves to take advantage of the small- and mid-cap stocks after seeing emerging values," said Rakuen Trade Sdn head of research Kenny Yee when contacted. Yee said while it is widely expected that the US is not looking to hike interest rates, all eyes are on its upcoming policy statement to gather clues on the future pace of US monetary tightening. Reuters reported that the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to release a statement early Thursday, while the US latest jobs data are due Friday. Inv...