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KUALA LUMPUR (July 31): The FBM KLCI closed 13.99 points or 0.79% higher at its intraday high after investors bought KLCI-linked stocks including Tenaga Nasional Bhd and Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd. At 5pm, the KLCI settled at 1,784.25 points. The KLCI's rise today was apparent when Bursa Malaysia resumed trading in the afternoon as KLCI-linked stocks emerged among the bourse's top gainers. Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd head of retail research Loui Low said the KLCI's rise could be due to China Foreign Minister Wang Yi's two-day visit to Malaysia starting today. Low said the visit "could lead to some positive developments for the bilateral relationship between Malaysia and China." At Malaysian shares' current level, Low said the local stock market was traded in an overbought environment. He noted that the KLCI's resistance could be seen within the range of 1,790 to 1,800 points Across Bursa Malaysia, 2.71 billion shares wo...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 30): The FBM KLCI rose 1.12 points or 0.06% on bargain hunting and as investors anticipated Japan and the US central banks' monetary policy decisions this week. At Bursa Malaysia today, the KLCI closed at 1,770.26 points at 5pm after volatile trade. Earlier, the KLCI rose to its intraday high at 1,770.47 points and fell to its intraday low at 1,764.28 points. Reuters reported that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) meets on Tuesday and Wednesday and is widely expected to stand pat while reaffirming the outlook for further gradual rate rises. The market is almost fully priced for a hike in September and leaning towards a further move before year-end. A Bank of Japan policy meeting that ends on Tuesday has taken on greater importance amid talk it could tweak its massive asset-buying campaign. In Malaysia, Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew told theedgemarkets.com that "investors were cautious ahead of the Fed ...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 27): The FBM KLCI climbed 2.91 points or 0.17% after last-minute buying of blue-chip counters like Petronas Gas Bhd and Hong Leong Bank Bhd helped the KLCI erase losses. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,769.14 points. Bursa Malaysia top gainer Petronas Gas added 46 sen to RM19 while Hong Leong Bank rose 14 sen to RM18.76. The KLCI erased losses after falling to its intraday low at 1,760.25 points amid simmering US-China trade tension. Reuters reported that most Southeast Asian stock markets declined on Friday, as simmering US-China trade tensions kept investor risk appetite low, while Indonesia extended gains on robust corporate earnings. It was reported that China stocks ended down on Friday, as investors were cautious amid concerns over the Sino-US trade friction. It was reported that the US signalled on Thursday it is set to push ahead on trade talks with Canada and Mexico, after agreeing to suspend hostilities over tariffs with Europe in...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): The FBM KLCI finished 2.45 points or 0.14% higher, helped by the 11th-hour share price spike in index-linked stocks like Tenaga Nasional Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank). At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,766.23 points after falling to its intraday low at 1,762.15 points. At 5pm, Tenaga shares rose 22 sen to close at RM15.10 while Maybank added nine sen to RM9.90. The KLCI's higher close bucked the downtrend in Asian stock markets. The spotlight was on China shares' drop as the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.74% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 0.48% lower. Reuters reported that China stocks ended lower on Thursday as months of see-sawing US-Sino trade friction stoked uncertainties over the country's economic growth, prompting investors to take a cautious stance. It was reported that China's state planner vowed on Wednesday to prevent extensive job losses across the economy and keep unemployment below existing thre...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 25): The FBM KLCI rose 0.85 point while Bursa Malaysia small cap stocks climbed by a larger quantum as Asian equities took cue from anticipation that China's fiscal policy will support growth. Overnight US share gains also supported Asian stocks' rise today. At Bursa Malaysia, the KLCI closed at 1,763.78 points at 5pm. Bursa Malaysia's small cap index climbed 107.24 points or 0.72% to 14,984.35 while the construction index rose 2.46 points or 1.09% to 228.84.   Across Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.46% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.9%. Reuters reported that Asian stocks rose modestly on Wednesday, supported by upbeat Wall Street earnings and hopes China's government spending would boost growth but trade tensions remained in focus ahead of a meeting between the US and European Commission presidents. Across Bursa Malaysia, 3.75 billion shares worth RM2.7 billion were traded. Sapura Energy Bhd was the most-active counter ...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 24): The FBM KLCI gained 4.97 points or 0.28% amid positive investment sentiment across Bursa Malaysia technology, construction and property shares. At a glance, the FBM KLCI's rise also mirrored gains in China stock markets. At Bursa Malaysia, the KLCI closed at 1,762.93 points at 5pm. Bursa Malaysia's technology, construction and property indices gained 1.68%, 1.08% and 1.5% respectively. "Given the renewed buying momentum (in the KLCI) following yesterday's rise, there may be more upside with profit-taking well-absorbed by fresh bargain hunting interest, specifically on construction-related stocks," TA Securities Holdings Bhd wrote in a note today. Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd head of retail research Loui Low told theedgemarkets.com: “I think we’re in a trading position right now. It’s not for long-term holdings and I think the recovery should be for the short term.”    The KLCI extended gains after increasi...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 23): The FBM KLCI increased 3.29 points or 0.19% on what appeared to be a reaction to news that the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) had a total of 402 projects with a proposed investment of RM75 billion as at May 2018. At 5pm today, the KLCI closed at 1,757.96. The KLCI erased losses after falling to its intraday low at 1,749.95. “This positive news (investment of RM75 billion) have led the (Bursa Malaysia) construction sector to become the biggest winner for the day. I expect this positive trend to continue,”  Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior research analyst, Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com. Leong was pointing to the Bursa Malaysia construction index which rose 7.19 points or 3.32% to close at 223.95. Across Bursa Malaysia, 3.13 billion shares worth RM2.24 billion were traded compared with 2.89 billion shares worth RM2.53 billion on Friday. Today Leong said the International Trade and Industry Ministry's ann...

  KUALA LUMPUR (July 20): The FBM KLCI closed 4.57 points or 0.26% lower on profit taking after nine straight days of gains. At 5pm today, the KLCI settled at 1,754.67 points. Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng told theedgemarkets.com that investors took profit on telecommunication stocks. "Today’s market was affected by the telcos especially Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) and Digi.Com Bhd," Wong said. TM was the biggest decliner in percentage terms among the 30 KLCI stocks followed by Digi.Com and Axiata Group Bhd. TM closed 2.31% lower at RM3.81, Digi.Com fell 1.94% to RM4.54 while Axiata was 1.36% lower at RM4.34. Across Bursa Malaysia, 2.89 billion shares worth RM2.53 billion were traded. The most-active counter was My E.G. Services Bhd (MyEG) with some 159 million shares transacted. MyEG rose 12 sen to close at RM1.24. Asian stock markets took cue from China share gains. In China, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Co...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 19): The FBM KLCI gained 6.17 points or 0.35% after foreign investors became net buyers of Malaysian shares and as Bursa Malaysia construction stocks rose. Bursa Malaysia construction stocks rose after Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today Malaysia will defer the planned Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) instead of unilaterally cancelling the project. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,759.24 points. Bursa Malaysia's construction index gained 10.14 points or 4.87% to 218.43 points. “If you look at the trade today, the construction sector has been doing very well. News reports talked about the likelihood of a return of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR project,” Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of research Vincent Lau told theegemarkets.com over telephone. The selldown of Malaysian shares by foreign investors has toned down recently. Lau said today foreign investors turned into net buyers of Malaysian shares for the...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 18): The FBM KLCI gained 15.79 points or 0.91% on local instutional support and bargain hunting after the index's recent decline. Analysts said today Malaysian stock market valuations appeared attractive after the KLCI's recent drop below 1,700 points. At 5pm today, the KLCI closed at its intraday high of 1,753.07 points. “We are quite bullish in the short term, not just (on) the KLCI, (as) we think the emerging market valuation is quite attractive now, and local funds are supporting the market. “For the index (KLCI), we think 1,700 is a strong support now, and 1,760 is the next resistant level," Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior research analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com. Across Bursa Malaysia, 2.63 billion shares were traded for RM2.18 billion. Top gainers included newly-listed Revenue Group Bhd, which was also the most-actively traded stock with some 188 million shares changing hands. Revenue, which was li...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 17): The FBM KLCI increased 10.61 points or 0.61% after Public Bank Bhd shares jumped in the final trading minutes and as foreign selling of Malaysian shares appeared to have eased. At 5pm, the KLCI ended at its intraday high at 1,737.28 points. Bursa Malaysia top gainer Public Bank rose 58 sen to RM23.60. Gains in other KLCI-linked counters like Digi.Com Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd also lifted the KLCI. Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd head of retail research Loui Low said: "Foreign selling of Malaysian shares has narrowed and it is a good sign for investors." Across Asian stock markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.44%, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.18% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 1.25% lower. Reuters reported that Asian stocks were mostly lower on Tuesday, with a sharp decline in crude oil prices weighing on energy shares, while the dollar dipped ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's first US congressiona...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 16): The FBM KLCI erased losses for a 4.74-point or 0.28% rise after Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd and Petronas Gas Bhd share prices spiked in the final trading minutes. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at its intraday high at 1,726.67 points after falling to its intraday low at 1,717.17 points. The KLCI had earlier fallen after China said today its economy grew 6.7% in the second quarter of 2018 from a year earlier. Reuters reported that the data points to a modest slowdown in the world's second-largest economy, as the government's multi-year efforts to tackle debt risks begin to weigh on growth and a trade war with the United States threatens exports. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected gross domestic product to expand 6.7 percent in the April-June quarter, slowing only marginally from 6.8 percent growth in the previous three quarters. In Malaysia, analysts said foreign fund selling of Malaysian shares appeared to have eased as local i...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 12): The FBM KLCI gained 14.8 points or 0.88% as Asian share markets recovered from previous session's losses as US-China trade war fears linger. At Bursa Malaysia, the KLCI closed at 1,703.57 points after reaching its intraday high at 1,704.87 points. In China, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite rose 2.16% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.6%. Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.17%. Reuters reported that stocks and commodities recovered slightly on Thursday as markets tried to consolidate from the previous session's steep losses when fears of an escalation in the US-China trade war jolted investor sentiment. In Malaysia, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd head of retail research Loui Low told theedgemarkets.com that "a lot of the concerns on the trade tension between the US and China have been priced into the market". Across Bursa Malaysia, top gainers included Malayan Banking Bhd, George Kent (M) Bhd a...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 11): The FBM KLCI rose 1.64 points or 0.1% on bargain hunting after falling with Asian shares as the US-China trade spat escalated. At 5pm, the KLCI finished at 1,688.77 points after declining to its intraday low at 1,679.18 points. The KLCI closed higher despite Asian share markets ending in the red. In China, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite fell 1.76% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 1.29% lower. Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 1.19%. Reuters reported that the sell-off in Chinese markets knocked Asian stocks on Wednesday as US threats of tariffs on an additional US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods pushed the world's two biggest economies ever closer to a full-scale trade war. It was reported that China accused the United States of bullying and warned it would hit back after the Trump administration raised the stakes in their trade dispute, threatening 10% tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese goods. C...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 10): Bargain hunting helped the FBM KLCI close in positive territory for the second day running today, after hitting an 18-month low. The key index rose 14.5 points or 0.87% to 1,687.13, adding to yesterday’s 8.77-point recovery from the 18-month low of 1,663.86 last Friday. Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong said the positive market sentiment was also due to the strengthening of the ringgit against the US dollar, and gains on Wall Street and regional markets. “The KLCI extended its gains today, and we believe this positive sentiment is underpinned by bargain hunting activities, as well as the stronger ringgit against the US dollar. “The index performance is also in line with the generally positive [performance] in the Asian stock markets and the US stock markets overnight,” Leong told theedgemarkets.com. At press time, the ringgit was trading at 4.0195 to the US dollar, up 0.75% compared with 4.0498 a week ago...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 9): The FBM KLCI recovered slightly today in line with gains in regional markets, after falling to an 18-month low last Friday (July 6). The benchmark index rose 8.77 points or 0.53% to close the day at 1,672.63, from 1,663.86 last Friday. Reuters reported that Asian shares rose today as a result of a favourable US jobs report that "underscored the economy's strength, and China's efforts to attract more foreign capital and support its economy after US tariffs on Chinese imports came into effect on Friday". Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 1.21% at 22,052.18, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.32% to 28,688.50 and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.57% to 2,285.80. Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew said that while the KLCI was up today, the number of counters in the red outpaced the gainers at 442 to 321. "Volumes are still quite thin at 2.01 billion shares traded for RM2.05 billion...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 6): The Malaysian stock market came under selling pressure as the United States decided to go ahead with tariffs on US$34 billion worth of goods from China, which was quickly followed by the Chinese response of retaliatory tariffs, signalling the beginning of a "trade war" between the two largest economies in the world. As at 5pm, the benchmark index FBM KLCI fell by 1.58% or 26.79 points to close at its intraday low of 1,663.86 points. On the broader market, decliners led gainers by 539 to 286 with 383 counters traded unchanged. About 2 billion shares worth of RM2 billion were seen traded on the open market. According to Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd's head of research, Chan Ken Yew, the decline seen in the stock market is reflective of the concern on the impact of the trade tariffs on the global economy. "The tariffs have kicked in as announced by President Trump. While we're not sure what the retaliatory move from...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): The FBM KLCI reversed its losses at 11th hour today, after going through much pressure as investors were concern about the imminent trade war between the US and China. At 5pm, the benchmark index settled 2.20 points or 0.13% higher at 1690.65 points, after ranging between 1682.35 points and 1691.62 points during trading hours. When contacted, CIMB Research analyst Nick Foo Mun Pang told theedgemarkets.com that the local stock market could see a rebound in the near term due to being oversold, but he remained wary of the medium- to long-term prospects, due to internal and external uncertainties. “On external front, its the concerns about the imminent trade war between the US and China, and the entire Asia region will be affected by it. Internally, investors, be they local or foreign, are still concerned about uncertainties [regarding] public policies, from minimum wage to broadband prices, etcetera, hence the selling activities,” Foo s...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 4): The FBM KLCI bucked the downtrend seen in regional stock markets to finish the day 8.08 points or 0.48% higher at 1,688.45. Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd head of retail research Loui Low said the market was reacting to some of the heavy selldown that was seen earlier as investors took profit. Low said he expects the positive trend to continue until the end of this week. On concerns over the new trade tariffs that the US will impose on Chinese goods on July 6, he said the market has already priced in the negative impact of the tariffs. Low noted that there is a divergence in the Malaysian stock market as compared to the regional downtrend. The most active counter on Bursa Malaysia was Nova MSC Bhd while the top gainer was Heineken Malaysia Bhd. Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd was the leading decliner. Reuters reported that most Southeast Asian stock markets fell today, tracking Asian peers on caution ahead of the Friday's ...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 3): The Malaysian stock market extended its downtrend today in line with regional peers amid growing concerns over the additional tariffs that the United States is due to impose on goods from China. At 5pm, the FBM KLCI fell by 4.68 points or 0.28% to close at 1,680.37 points. Reuters reported that most Southeast Asian stocks markets fell today as a rout in Chinese shares ahead of a US deadline for further tariffs on exports from the world's second-largest economy soured risk sentiment across the region. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 26.39 points or 0.12% to 21,785.54 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 409.54 points or 1.41% to 28,545.57. Nearer home, Jakarta's Composite Index was down 112.83 points or 1.96% at 5,633.94 and Singapore's Straits Time Index lost 3.04 points or 0.09% to 3,235.9. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice president of research Vincent Lau said the fall in the KLCI was mainly due to concerns on th...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 2): Malaysian shares started the week lower, along with its regional peers as concerns about the potential for a trade war between the US and China continue to drag down the FBM KLCI. At 5pm, the benchmark index fell by 6.45 points or 0.38% to close at 1,685.05 points, after hitting an intra-day high of 1,697.15 points. The index fell to an intraday low of 1,677.33 points. When contacted, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior research analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com that despite the KLCI opening higher at opening bell today, it gave up all its intra-day gains by market close due to the concerns. "Concerns (on the trade war) would persist in the short term as there will be tariff from US on US$34 billion worth of China goods by July 6, and there might be more to come as indicated by US President Donald Trump," he said. "Oil price also [saw] some pullback today. Generally, the market was quite bearish today, the...