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 (June 29): The FBM KLCI staged a technical rebound today to snap a four-day losing streak, finishing 25.82 points or 1.55% higher at 1,691.50 points, in tandem with the regional markets.
Though it opened lower at 1,665.04 points this morning, the benchmark index rose steadily to briefly touch its intra-day peak of 1,701.65 points by noon break. At 5pm, the benchmark index pared some gains to settle below the 1,700 level.
Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng told theedgemarkets.com when contacted that the surge today appears to be a technical rebound, after a period of downturn in the past two weeks impacted by external factors, especially the US-China trade spat.
Excluding a marginal 0.1% gain it eked out on June 22, the FBM KLCI had been on a declining trend for the past 13 trading days.
"The fundamentals of the Malaysian equity market is still intact," he said. "It is also because today is the last trading session of the first half — or second quarter — of the year, which may have prompted some window-dressing activities," he added.
Across the local bourse, market breadth was positive, with gainers leading decliners at 474 versus 345, while 416 counters closed unchanged. Trading volume stood at 2.23 billion shares worth RM2.98 billion.
Top active stocks were oil and gas related, namely Barakah Offshore Petroleum Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd and Icon Offshore Bhd, which were supported by new contract wins and a surge in oil prices to multi-year highs.
Bourses closed higher elsewhere in the region, with Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 0.15% and South Korea's Kospi rising 0.51%. In China, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index were up 2.17% and 1.61% respectively.
The recovery in Asian stocks on Friday came after China eased foreign investment limits and provided investors a temporary respite to trade war fears, Reuters reported. Beijing yesterday formalised the easing of the limits on a range of industries, from banking to agriculture, including removing caps on ownership of banks, brokerages, and insurance companies.
Source: The Edge
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