MONEY MASTER

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 31): The FBM KLCI closed 1.49 points or 0.09% lower on the final trading day of the year today after investors took profit and as they evaluated China's weaker purchasing managers' index (PMI) data. At Bursa Malaysia, the KLCI settled at 1,690.58 at 5pm for a year-to-date gain of 5.91%. Investors took profit today after the KLCI rose to its intraday high at 1,701.10 amid crude oil price gains. At 5pm, the biggest decliners, in percentage terms, among the KLCI's 30 component stocks were Maxis Bhd and Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd while gainers were led by MISC Bhd and Sime Darby Bhd. Maxis and Hong Leong Financial shares were down 2% and 1.59% respectively. MISC and Sime Darby Bhd gained 1.82% and 1.69% respectively. On the KLCI, Inter-Pacific Research Sdn Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew wrote in a note today: "If corporate earnings continue their disappointing trajectory and turn in flat for the year, our expectati...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 5): The FBM KLCI joined other Asian stock indices in tracking losses on Wall Street yesterday amid plunging US Treasury yields and continued uncertainties over the US-China trade dispute. The benchmark index closed down 6.72 points or 0.4% at 1,688.27. It was mostly dragged by telco stocks, namely Maxis Bhd, Axiata Group Bhd and DiGi.com Bhd. “The decline was mostly influenced by external factors today,” said Vincent Khoo, head of research at UOB Kay Hian. Across Bursa Malaysia, 519 declining counters outpaced the 251 stocks that recorded gains. The most actively traded stocks were Bumi Armada Bhd, Techbond Group Bhd and Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd. Volume was weak, however, with a total of 1.75 billion shares traded with a total value of  RM1.52 billion. Across Asia, stocks followed their American counterparts, which were down as the spread between two- and 10-year Treasury yields were at their flattest level in over a decade, according...