KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index edged higher at the close as bargain hunting emerged following Monday’s sharp sell-off, although it narrowly failed to reclaim the 1,600 level, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 3.83 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 1,599.58 from Monday’s close of 1,595.75. The index opened 3.18 points lower at 1,592.57, marking its intraday low, and reached an intraday high of 1,602.83 in early trading. On the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 751 to 331, while 499 counters were unchanged, 1,259 untraded and 10 suspended. Turnover rose to 2.86 billion units worth RM2.42 billion against Monday’s 2.49 billion units worth RM2.38 billion.
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 1): The FBM KLCI closed 4.64 points or 0.29% lower at 1,593.34 today on profit taking after yesterday's substantial rise on buying which analysts deemed overdone due to the absence of fresh catalysts.
Today, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of research Kenny Yee said the decline in the KLCI was “expected”, given that “buying was overdone” yesterday.
Yee told theedgemarkets.com today there were no new catalysts to support yesterday’s buying of KLCI-linked shares.
Yesterday, the KLCI closed up 17.98 points or 1.14% at 1,597.98 as Malaysian stocks tracked Asian share gains after the US cut interest rates on Wednesday.
Across Bursa Malaysia today, 2.79 billion shares worth RM1.64 billion were traded. Top decliners included Public Bank Bhd, Pharmaniaga Bhd and Gamuda Bhd.
Yee was also mindful of the ringgit's strength today amid an inflow of foreign funds into Malaysian assets ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) interest rate decision on Tuesday (Nov 5).
Yee said today should BNM maintain the overnight policy rate on Tuesday following the US rate cut, the market may see a further inflow of foreign funds into Malaysian assets.
“We are seeing more foreign funds flowing in as we see ringgit strengthening over the last two days,” said Yee. At the time of writing, the ringgit appreciated to 4.1648 against the US dollar.
Source: The Edge
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