MONEY MASTER

KUALA LUMPUR (March 31): The FBM KLCI finished up 22.01 points or 1.66% today at 1,350.89, while Bursa Malaysia small market capitalization (small cap) stocks climbed by a larger quantum, as global investors reacted to stronger China manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) data and as they continued to weigh the global economic impact from the Covid-19 pandemic. Bursa’s small cap index closed up 384.96 points or 4.36% at 9,208.67, as investors concluded equity trades for the last day of 2020’s first quarter today. According to Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong, the KLCI’s performance reflected investor’s reaction to data today on China's official manufacturing PMI, which rose to 52 in March 2020, from a record-low 35.7 in February. "In addition, the recent sell-down (in Malaysian shares) was too steep,” Wong told theedgemarkets.com. Today, Malaysian shares tracked gains across Asian equity indices. In China, Hong...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 30): The FBM KLCI closed 14.21 points or 1.06% lower today at 1,328.88 as crude oil prices slumped amid jitters from the Covid-19 pandemic’s global economic impact as countries restrict movement to curb the outbreak. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,328.88 after falling to its intraday low of 1,317.39, as crude oil prices slumped below U$20 a barrel. Crude oil prices fell on expectation the Covid-19 outbreak will erode demand at a time when the Saudi Arabia-Russia price war leads to anticipation of higher supply of the commodity in world markets. “The key issue for investors at this moment at this time is how long the pause in economic activity as a result of the virus will continue, and how much of an economic impact will be present. "What is happening is not just in Malaysia, it is also happening on a global level,” Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd research vice president Vincent Lau told theedgemarkets.com today. Across Bursa Malaysia today,...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 29): The FBM KLCI rose 1.13% or 15 points at the close of trading today, as overnight gains seen on Wall Street following optimism over the US government's US$2 trillion plan to combat the Covid-19 pandemic's fallout lifted regional markets. Consequently, the benchmark index settled at 1,343.09 — its highest in two weeks — after charting its fourth day of increase. “The gains on Wall Street have been lifting the FBM KLCI. That said, we have to watch out for development such as the spread of the Covid-19 virus as well,” said Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong. On Thursday (March 26), the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a 6.38% or 1,351.62 point gain to settle at 22,522.17 points, with the S&P 500 rising 6.24% or 154.41 points to 2,630.07 points. While the KLCI has jumped 123.37 points or 10% from its 11-year low of 1,219.729 points recorded last week, it is still down by 15.46% on a year-to-date (YTD...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 26): The FBM KLCI managed to close higher for the third consecutive day today with investors in trading mode ahead of the new COVID-19 stimulus package announcement by Putrajaya tomorrow. The benchmark index had dipped into the red in the morning session, followed by a swift rebound that tapered off at the final minutes of trading, to end the day 3.59 points or 0.27% higher at 1,328.09. Trading interest persisted among mid- and small-caps, which are the bigger gainers week-to-date. Across Bursa Malaysia, 3.53 billion shares valued at RM2.27 billion changed hands. Among component stocks, gainers were led by Nestle (M) Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd and IHH Healthcare Bhd, while banking stocks pulled back on profit taking. Elsewhere, gainers included consumer counters Carlsberg Brewery (M) Bhd, Nestle, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Panasonic Manufacturing (M) Bhd and Ajinomoto (M) Bhd. Decliners were led by blue chips Hong Leong Financial Gro...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 25): The FBM KLCI closed higher for the second consecutive day today, riding on the optimism in global equities and as bargain hunting continued from the heavy sell-off earlier this month. The benchmark index closed up 33.36 points or 2.58% at 1,324.5, after having touched an intra-day high of 1,341.86 in the morning session. Gainers among component stocks were led by Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd and PPB Group Bhd, while RHB Bank Bhd and MISC Bhd slipped. The broader market saw active trade with 4.33 billion shares worth RM2.83 billion exchanging hands. Overall, gainers led decliners by 641 versus 267, while 356 counters closed unchanged. Mid-cap stocks led the rally with the FBM Mid 70 Index — representing the 70 biggest companies after KLCI constituents — up 3.44% while the Small Cap Index rose 3.93%. Consumer counters led the gainers’ list and they included Carlsberg Brewery (M) Bhd, followed by KLK, Heineken (M) Bhd and...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): Malaysian stocks closed higher today in line with regional markets, as participants gauged the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) assurance to support the economy and the fight against the Covid-19 momentum gain around the world. At the close of trade, the FBM KLCI was up 31.26 points or 2.48% to 1,291.14, led by gains in banking stocks such as Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Public Bank Bhd and Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd. The benchmark index earlier breached the 1,300-mark in afternoon trade. The small- and mid-cap stocks, which were worse hit during the massive sell-off earlier this month, also eked out gains, with the FBM ACE Index up 5.97% and the FBM Small Cap rose 5.51%. Investors turned back to the stock market after the Fed’s Monday announcement that it will buy unlimited amounts of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities to keep borrowing costs at rock-bottom levels — and to help ensure chaotic markets function properly. Elsewher...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 23): The FBM KLCI closed 3.33% lower on Monday as it tracked losses in Wall Street along with other regional indices, as the Covid-19 pandemic crisis deepens in Malaysia and globally. At 5pm, the benchmark index further extended earlier losses to close down 43.4 points to 1,259.88 points, as most component stocks went into the red. The decline came despite news that Putrajaya will announce a more comprehensive economic stimulus package to address the Covid-19 outbreak impact on March 30 next week. Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 4.86%, South Korea’s Kospi fell 5.34% and China’s SSE Composite Index fell 3.11%. “Asian market follows the trend in the US, where there is a hiccup in the Congress’ rescue talks, raising concerns towards recession risk in the world’s biggest economy,” Danny Wong Teck Meng told theedgemarkets.com, when contacted. “The market remains volatile, we must follow the trend of new cases globally to deter...

  KUALA LUMPUR (March 20): The FBM KLCI closed up 83.56 points or 6.85% today at 1,303.28 on broad-based buying across Bursa Malaysia as investors weighed the impact of the estimated RM30 billion in additional liquidity for the banking system, following Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) 100-basis-point statutory reserve requirement (SRR) ratio cut to 2%. Across Bursa Malaysia, 5.06 billion shares were traded for RM4.05 billion as Malaysian equities ended higher with world stock markets amid persisting Covid-19 pandemic concerns. At Bursa, broad-based buying on apparent bargain hunting helped the index for small market capitalisation stocks close up 720.52 points or 9.37% at 8,409.79. Global shares were beaten down in recent days as the Covid-19 pandemic raised the spectre of slower world economic growth as the outbreak disrupts businesses. "Despite liquidity in the (Malaysian) financial system still appearing stable — based on BNM’s January 2020 dat...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 19): The FBM KLCI closed down 19.29 points or 1.56% at 1,219.72 today after cutting losses in the afternoon, as oil palm plantation shares rose after the Malaysian government allowed the industry to continue operating during the nation’s 14-day movement control order (MCO) to curb the spread of the Covid-19 infection. Malaysia’s crude palm oil (CPO) is also seen as a beneficiary of a weaker ringgit, as it makes the commodity cheaper for global buyers as the Covid-19 outbreak led to a global market sell-off on expectation of slower economic growth. "The Cabinet has given their consent to allow the Malaysian plantation industry to resume operations with immediate effect. This is a relief and did not come as a surprise to us. We had estimated that the stoppage of work could cost the industry around RM1.6bn. "We continue to view the plantation industry as one of the few industries that will be the least affected by the two-week restric...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 18): The FBM KLCI closed down 17.57 points or 1.4% at 1,239.01 today, after slumping in afternoon trades with US stock futures and Asian equities, amid persistent concerns on the economic impact of the global Covid-19 outbreak which has led to movement restrictions in several countries. In Malaysia, the government has imposed a 14-day movement control order from todayuntil March 31 to curb the spread of the Covid-19 infection. At 5pm, the KLCI ended at 1,239.01, after falling to its intraday low at 1,226.26, as the ringgit weakened past 4.3700 against a strengthening US dollar. Across Bursa Malaysia, 3.49 billion shares worth RM2.89 billion were traded. There were 745 decliners and 221 gainers. Top decliners included the Public Bank Bhd and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB). MAHB's share price closed down 58 sen or 11.15% at RM4.62, as investors weighed Malaysia's  14-day movement control order on the airport operator’s busin...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 17): The FBM KLCI cut losses to close down 24.05 points or 1.88% at 1,256.58 on bargain hunting for beaten down Malaysian shares as investors weighed the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The ringgit weakened to 4.3500 against a strengthening US dollar. At 5pm today, the KLCI closed at 1,256.58 after falling to its intraday low at 1,211.95. The KLCI extended its drop today after closing down 64.12 points or 4.77% yesterday at 1,280.63 as investors evaluated the effectiveness of global central banks’ monetary policies to mitigate the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and after China reported its latest industrial output numbers, which fell below market forecast. Today, the KLCI’s drop did not surprise analysts, who have been anticipating further downside volatility in the local stock market. "Due to failure of the US central bank and coordinated monetary stimulus from major central bankers to stall a selloff in global ...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 16): The FBM KLCI closed down 64.12 points or 4.77% at 1,280.63 today after plunging in afternoon trades with world equities as investors evaluated the effectiveness of global central banks’ monetary policies to mitigate the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and after China reported its latest industrial output numbers, which fell below market forecast. In theory, interest rate cuts are good for stock markets. However, the drop in US equity futures after the nation’s Sunday 100 basis-point emergency interest rate cut to between 0% and 0.25% appeared to have failed to assure investors that central banks’ measures are enough to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak. "The Dow futures are declining at this juncture after a surprise move by the Fed [to cut] interest rates amid the ongoing worries over the Covid-19 impact on economic activities globally. Hence, we believe the trading tone for Asia’s stock markets will be negat...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 13): The FBM KLCI closed down 74.68 points or 5.26% at 1,344.75 today after broad-based selling across Bursa Malaysia, as concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Saudi Arabia crude oil price war led to a substantial drop in global markets. Such sentiment hit world equity and crude oil markets as investors weighed the economic impact of the Covid-19 outbreak and as the crude oil price war led to concerns of additional supply of the commodity. UOB senior economist Alvin Liew and rates strategist Victor Young wrote in a note today that global policymakers are expected to respond to the challenge amid uncertainties over both the magnitude and duration of the growth shock. "Therefore, monetary policy settings will be highly accommodative for the rest of 2020 in order to stave off liquidity breakdowns during periods of elevated market stress as well as to provide a base for the eventual recovery,” Liew and Young said. Source: The E...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 12): The FBM KLCI closed down 24.4 points or 1.69% at its intraday low today while Bursa Malaysia’s index for small market capitalisation (small cap) stocks fell by a larger quantum after the World Health Organisation said on Wedesday (March 11) that COVID-19 is now a pandemic due the severity of the outbreak. Such sentiment hit world equity and crude oil markets as investors weighed the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and as the Russia-Saudi Arabia crude oil price war led to concerns of additional supply of the commodity. At Bursa’s 5pm close, the KLCI closed down at 1,419.43 while the small-cap index fell 5.74% The sole gainer was the healthcare index after the gauge, which tracks stocks including rubber glove manufacturers, rose 0.15%. The healthcare index rose as rubber glove manufacturers Top Glove Corp Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd and Hartalega Holdings Bhd shares closed up among Bursa top gainers on expectation the ...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 11): The FBM KLCI closed up 13.36 points or 0.93% after paring gains in afternoon trades as Asian equities fell in tandem with US stock futures amid persisting concerns over the global Covid-19 outbreak. Crude oil prices rose. At 5pm, the KLCI closed up at 1,443.83 on gains in KLCI-linked stocks like MISC Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd and PPB Group Bhd, all of which ended among Bursa Malaysia’s top gainers. "The local market should extend recovery on hopes further stimulus measures from major global economies could cushion the adverse economic impact from the coronavirus outbreak,” TA Securities Holdings Bhd wrote in a note today. The KLCI, which earlier today rose to its intraday high of 1,454, stood out after closing higher among Asian equities, which ended lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.27%, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 2.78% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was 0.63% lower. Across Bursa Malaysia today, 4.47 billion shares were tr...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 10): The FBM KLCI closed up 6.31 points or 0.44% today at 1,430.47 on bargain hunting while crude oil prices rebounded as investors weighed the impact of the Saudi Arabia-Russia crude oil price war and global Covid-19 outbreak. At 5pm today, the KLCI closed up on bargain hunting after ending down 58.94 points or 3.97% yesterday at 1,424.16. Today, Malaysian shares rose with Asian equities. Reuters reported that Asian stocks bounced, and bond yields rose from record lows on Tuesday on hopes that global policymakers would introduce co-ordinated stimulus to cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. In commodity markets, it was reported that crude oil prices bounced 8% on Tuesday from the biggest one-day rout in nearly 30 years, as investors eyed the possibility of economic stimulus amid a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia and as new virus cases slowed in China. It was reported that Brent crude futures rose by US$2.85...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 9): The FBM KLCI closed down 58.94 points or 3.97% today after broad-based selling as global equities took cue from the crude oil price's over 30% drop to some US$30 a barrel after OPEC failed to strike a deal with its allies regarding production cuts amid the Covid-19 outbreak. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,424.16 while Bursa Malaysia’s index for small market capitalisation stocks fell 1,273.21 points or 10.16% to 11,260.83. Worst-hit was the energy index, which tracks oil and gas-related share prices after the gauge dropped 256.97 points or 25.39% to 754.95. Across Bursa Malaysia today, 6.66 billion shares were traded for RM3.63 billion. Bursa registered its all-time high trading volume on Aug 20, 2014 when the exchange saw 7.67 billion shares transacted. Today, there were 1,139 decliners across Bursa versus 120 gainers. Top decliners included Petronas Dagangan Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd while most-active stocks included...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 6): The FBM KLCI closed down 7.93 points or 0.53% at 1,483.1 today with Asian stock indices amid persisting concerns on COVID-19’s rapid spread across the globe and its outbreak's impact on the world economy. The COVID-19 outbreak, which started in China, has spread to other countries including South Korea and the US. Such sentiment has prompted global central banks including the US Federal Reserve and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to cut interest rates to mitigate COVID-19’s impact on the world economy. "While hope for stimulus by global central bankers to pacify financial markets in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak should lift market sentiment in the near-term, stronger buying momentum and liquidity boost is crucial to promote sustained (stock market) rise to higher ground," TA Securities Holdings Bhd said in a note today. On Tuesday, the US Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee lowered the federal funds r...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 5): The FBM KLCI closed up 1.08 points or 0.07% at 1,491.03 today after falling in afternoon trades with US stock futures as global investors weighed the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, which has killed more than 3,000 people in China. At 5pm today, the KLCI closed up after volatile trade in the afternoon when the index fell to its intraday low at 1,486.35.  The KLCI had earlier risen to its intraday high at 1,497.31 as Asian stock indices tracked US equities’ Wednesday overnight rise. Across Bursa Malaysia at 5pm today, 2.78 billion shares worth RM2.07 billion were traded. Top gainers included Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd and Gamuda Bhd. On US markets, CNBC reported that as of 1:27 am ET Thursday, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 141 points, signalling an implied opening drop of 247.86 points at the open. "The moves came amid a roller coaster week for stocks on Wall Street, which saw the 30-stock Dow swinging 1,00...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 4): The FBM KLCI closed up 11.31 points or 0.76% while the ringgit strengthened in an apparent reaction to Malaysia and the US' interest rate cuts to mitigate the economic impact from the global Covid-9 outbreak. The emergency US rate cut is seen prompting money flow from US dollar-based assets to Asian markets for better returns. At Bursa Malaysia, the KLCI closed up at 1,489.95 at 5pm. In currency markets, the ringgit strengthened to 4.1790 against a weakening US dollar at the time of writing. On Tuesday (March 3), the US Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee lowered the federal funds rate by 50 basis points. After the cut, the federal funds rate ranges from 1% to 1.25%, the Federal Reserve said. "The fundamentals of the US economy remain strong. However, the coronavirus (Covid-19) poses evolving risks to economic activity," the Federal Reserve said in a statement. Bank Negara Malaysia shares the same sen...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 3): The FBM KLCI tracked gains in regional markets today, while investors also turned to equities following another round of interest rate cut announced by Bank Negara Malaysia this afternoon. The benchmark index rebounded from its intra-day low of 1,466.9 to close up 11.7 points or 0.8% at 1,478.64, led by gains in banking stocks like Public Bank Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd and RHB Bank Bhd. The gains in banking stocks were despite the overnight policy rate (OPR) cut of another 25 basis points to 2.5%, the second rate cut this year, “to provide a more accommodative monetary environment” amid the Covid-19 outbreak. “The market has largely expected the rate cut, and considering the prices of banking stocks have been depressed — for multiple reasons — today’s movement is more of a technical rebound,” said HLIB Research analyst Chan Jit Hoong when contacted. Reuters reported that Southeast Asian stock markets rose sharply today, with Indon...

KUALA LUMPUR (March 2): The FBM KLCI closed down 15.7 points or 1.06% after cutting losses, while Asian stocks ended higher amid expectation world central banks will initiate monetary measures to mitigate Covid-19 outbreak's impact on their economies. Oil and gas (O&G)-related shares fell. At 5pm, the KLCI settled at 1,466.94, after falling to its intraday low at 1,456.08. The KLCI pared losses on price gains in index-linked stocks like Tenaga Nasional Bhd and PPB Group Bhd. At a glance, the KLCI's drop at 5pm was in contrast to global share indices, which rose after erasing intraday losses. Notable global share indices which erased their intraday losses include Japan's Nikkei 225 and South Korea's Kospi, which ended up 0.95% and 0.78% respectively. Reuters reported Asian shares regained a measure of calm on Monday, as markets bounced after a searing sell-off last week and as investors pinned hopes on a likely coordinated global monetar...