MONEY MASTER

KUALA LUMPUR (May 29): Trading value soars to RM9.31 billion today on Bursa Malaysia — two years after the previous peak at RM9 billion on May 31, 2018 — with 9.04 billion securities traded across the board. The FBM KLCI today marked its third consecutive trading day of gains with the benchmark index climbing 15.75 points or 1.08% to close at a three-month high of 1,473.25. Strong interest was also seen in the small-cap stocks with the FBM Small Cap Index jumping 153.46 points or 1.29% to 12,061.84 — nearly a three-month high. Among the sector indices, Bursa Malaysia Property index led with a 4.88% climb to settle at 641.05 points today. It was followed by the Utilities Index, which increased 3.98% to 992.63 points, Healthcare Index, which rose 2.31% to 2,296.25, Consumer Products and Services, up 2.29% to 567.72 points, while Industrial Products and Services jumped 1.78% to 130.06 points. The overall market breadth was bullish with advancers trouncing l...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 28): The FBM KLCI closed 5.77 points or 0.4% higher today tracking overnight gains on Wall Street on the back of optimism about the reopening of the US economy. The benchmark index closed at 1,457.5, after moving between 1,449.25 and 1,458.73. Apart from the Wall Street gains, the KLCI’s rise was also due to the index playing catch up after the Aidilfitri holiday break on Monday and Tuesday, Rakuten Trade Research head Kenny Yee Shen Pin told theedgemarkets.com. He, however, warned that the uptrend is unlikely to sustain as the market is lacking a catalyst to provide the support for further gain. Among KLCI component stocks, Genting Malaysia Bhd led the gainers with a 3.14% or seven sen rise to RM2.30, followed by Dialog Group Bhd (up 2.97% or 11 sen to RM3.81), and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (up 2.63% or nine sen to RM3.51). Total turnover on Bursa Malaysia was 6.94 billion shares, worth RM5.45 billion. Losers led gainers by 546 to 366, while ...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 27): Continuous buying of selected rubber glove stocks led to the FBM KLCI closing 14.97 points or 1.04% higher today. The benchmark index settled at 1,451.73 points after moving in positive territory — between 1,446.42 and 1,458.24 — throughout the trading session. Two rubber glove makers — Top Glove Corp Bhd and Hartalega Holdings Bhd — were the top gainers among the KLCI’s 30 component stocks, both rising by 8.8% for the day. Top Glove advanced RM1.04 to RM12.86, with 32.34 million shares done, while Hartalega jumped 88 sen to RM10.88, with 12.68 million shares traded. Rakuten Trade Research vice-president Vincent Lau said the positive sentiment that drove glove stocks higher was also seen in other counters. “This was in line with the overnight gains seen in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the US,” he said, adding that key regional bourses also finished higher today. On Bursa Malaysia’s boarder market, gainers led ...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 22): The FBM KLCI finished down 15.35 points or 1.06% at 1,436.76, while Bursa Malaysia’s energy index fell by a larger quantum as news of China’s plan to impose a new national security law on Hong Kong to tighten its grip on the latter battered world equity and crude oil markets. Bursa’s energy index, which tracks shares in oil and gas (O&G)-related companies, fell 33.19 points or 4.05% to 786.51 at 5pm to become the largest percentage decliner across the exchange’s indices after broad-based selling across the bourse. TA Securities Holdings Bhd technical analyst Stephen Soo said negative sentiment in the Hong Kong market after China proposed a new security law as well as heightened tensions between China and the US had a spillover effect on the local market. "Coincidently, the KLCI was due for a correction following a bull run for the past seven straight trading days,” Soo said today.  ...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 21): The FBM KLCI closed up 16.99 points or 1.18% today at 1,452.11, helped by share price gains in index-link rubber glove manufacturers on resurgent concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic, amid doubts about the development of a vaccine. Among rubber glove manufacturers, Hartalega Holdings Bhd’s share price rose past RM10 for the first time today, as doubts about the development of a Covid-19 vaccine led to buying of healthcare-related shares on Bursa Malaysia. “The glove companies have just gone exceedingly high and it is really beyond fundamentals. Unless the results are good, the push now [in share prices] is unsustainable,” Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Victor Wan told theedgemarkets.com. Across Bursa, the exchange saw 7.15 billion shares, worth RM4.66 billion traded. Top gainers included KLCI stocks Petronas Gas Bhd, Top Glove Corp Bhd and Hartalega. Top Glove and Hartalega are also constituents of Bursa’s healt...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 20): The FBM KLCI closed up 11.15 points or 0.78% at its intraday high today after a final hour jump as doubts about the development of a Covid-19 vaccine led to buying of healthcare-related shares on Bursa Malaysia. Malaysia equities also took their cue from financial results of companies including Velesto Energy Bhd and KLCI component Petronas Gas Bhd (PetGas) today. At 5pm, the KLCI finished higher at 1,435.12 points after a final hour spike in the share prices of KLCI stocks IHH Healthcare Bhd and PetGas. IHH closed up 19 sen or 3.45% at RM5.69, while PetGas rose 18 sen or 1.2% to RM15.18. PetGas' share price rose after the company declared earlier today a first interim single-tier dividend of 16 sen a share. The group also reported that its net profit dropped to RM368.12 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 (1QFY20) from RM515.46 million a year earlier. Across Bursa to...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 19): The FBM KLCI today closed 13.81 or 0.98% higher as world equities cheered positive developments of a Covid-19 vaccine trial and as Malaysian shares reacted to speculation that India buyers had resumed buying Malaysian crude palm oil (CPO) after a four-month interval due to a diplomatic row. On Bursa, the KLCI closed up at 1,423.97 at 5pm. Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com that gains were underpinned by higher CPO prices. CPO prices for July 2020 had added RM44 to RM2,196 a tonne as at the time of writing. "For now, the KLCI looks likely to retest the 1,430 resistance level, while the 1,400 [mark] will serve as immediate support. We see rotational play shifting from healthcare stocks to plantation stocks over the near term following the recovery in CPO prices,” Leong said. Across Bursa, the exchange saw 9...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 18): The FBM KLCI closed up 6.72 points or 0.48% at 1,410.16 today, as trade volume across Bursa Malaysia rose to another record high in less than a week at 11.21 billion securities. Trade volume rose, as higher crude oil prices led to heavy trading of shares in Bursa Malaysia-listed oil and gas-related companies. At 5pm, Bursa saw 11.21 billion securities worth RM4.41 billion traded across the exchange. Globally, It was reported that oil prices climbed by more than US$1 a barrel on Monday, supported by output cuts and signs of gradual demand recovery, amid easing coronavirus curbs, with U.S. oil showing no signs of last month's contract expiry price rout. Reuters reported Brent crude was up US$1.06 or 3.3% at US$33.56 a barrel by 0452 GMT, after touching its highest since April 13. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up US$1.29 or 4.4% at US$30.72 a barrel, after rising to its highest since March 16.    Trade volume across Bu...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 15): The FBM KLCI today closed 6.19 points or 0.44% higher as global crude oil price gains offered an impetus to Bursa Malaysia's oil and gas (O&G)-related shares' price and volume rises, which propelled securities trade across the bourse above nine billion units again. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,403.44 points, while volume across Bursa rose to 9.23 billion securities worth RM3.87 billion as O&G-related companies' share prices rose among the top gainers and most active stocks. KNM Group Bhd and Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd topped the most active list, while Petronas Gas Bhd (PetGas) and MISC Bhd ended among the top gainers after oil prices jumped more than 3% today, touching more than one-month highs amid signs that demand for crude was picking up with China reporting increased refinery runs, rounding out a week of bullish news on the supply front. "Brent crude was up...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 14): The FBM KLCI closed 0.12 point or 0.01% higher at 1,397.25 after erasing losses in the final trading hour, while Bursa Malaysia’s index for small market capitalisation (small cap) stocks fell 1.07% as concerns over a second wave of Covid-19 infections drove global market sentiment. Analysts also expected Malaysia’s current corporate financial reporting season to affect local equity market sentiment. At 5pm, the KLCI closed higher after trading in negative territory for most of the trading session today. The index had earlier fallen to its intraday low of 1,388.80 points. The Small Cap Index closed down 123.95 points or 1.07% at 11,419.56. “Moving forward, investors will brace [themselves] for a barrage of corporate earnings releases, albeit some companies have opted for deferment of the release of their financial performance,” Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenn...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 13): The FBM KLCI finished 17.2 points or 1.25% higher at 1,397.13, while share trade volume across Bursa Malaysia closed higher at an all-time high of 9.59 billion shares, as the spectre of a resurgence in the Covid-19 outbreak dictated world stock market sentiment. The spectre of a resurgence in the Covid-19 outbreak led to buying of shares in healthcare-related companies like rubber glove manufacturers and hospital operators. In Malaysia, analysts said announcement today on the nation’s stronger-than-expected first quarter 2020 (1Q2020) gross domestic product (GDP) on-year growth at 0.7% had also boosted sentiment in the equities market.  It was reported that the country’s 1Q2020 GDP growth of 0.7% was better than the 1.5% decline forecast in a Reuters poll. TA Securities Holdings Bhd technical analyst Steven Soo told theedgemarkets.com today that price gains of rubber glove counters were ‘excessive’. He said TA expects the share price of...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 12): The FBM KLCI finished 2.38 points or 0.17% lower at 1,379.93 today, while Bursa Malaysia’s Healthcare Index rose by a significantly larger quantum as concerns over a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic weighed on investors’ confidence and at the same time prompted buying of shares in healthcare-related companies like rubber glove manufacturers. In Malaysia, investors also appeared to take their cue from factors including the current corporate financial reporting season and political updates in the country. News reports today, based on PAS Jeneri assemblyperson Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor's claims, indicated that 23 Kedah state assemblypersons had lost confidence in the leadership of Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir as Kedah menteri besar. The KLCI closed lower after volatile trade. Malaysian markets resumed trading today folllowing a holiday yesterday in lieu of Nuzul Al-Quran, which fell on Sunday. Today, Bursa saw 6.39 bi...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 8): The FBM KLCI closed up 5.38 points or 0.39% at 1,382.31 today with Asian equity indices on expectations of easing of US-China trade tensions following a telephone conservation between officials of both nations. Such sentiment supported world equities’ rise despite an existing US-China spat over the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic. Across Bursa Malaysia at 5pm, 4.68 billion shares had been traded for RM2.74 billion. There were 540 gainers and 340 decliners. The Malaysian stock market, which resumed trading today following a holiday yesterday in conjunction with the Wesak Day holiday, could have also taken its cue from China’s unexpected April 2020 export growth numbers. In Malaysia, banking shares were also in the spotlight following news reports that financial institutions had agreed to waive the additional interest or profit charge imposed on instalments for hire-purchase l...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 6): The FBM KLCI closed down 12.62 points or 0.91% at 1,376.93 today, after a final hour plunge landed the index at its intraday low. Analysts and remisiers said investors took profit today, ahead of a holiday in Malaysia tomorrow. At 5pm today, the KLCI closed down at 1,376.93 after rising to its intraday high at 1393.56. "The market continued its profit taking activity for this week as most shares had gained a lot compared with last month," Maybank Investment Bank Bhd remisier Jeffry Azizi Jaafar told theedgemarkets.com. "Markets will close tomorrow due to a public holiday. This, coupled with the long weekend until Monday, another public holiday, prompted traders and investors to sell their shares as they would not want to hold overnight stocks in these uncertain times," he said.    Tomorrow (May 7), Malaysia markets will be closed in conjunction with the Wesak Day holiday. Trading resumes on Friday (May 8). On Mo...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 5): The FBM KLCI closed up 12.96 points or 0.94% at 1,389.55 today as a confluence of factors, including higher crude oil and palm oil prices as well as Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) 50 basis-point overnight policy rate (OPR) cut to 2.00%, spurred broad-based buying across Bursa Malaysia. At 5pm, Bursa saw 5.76 billion shares worth RM2.7 billion traded. There were 774 gainers and 162 decliners across the exchange as markets responded to news on the global easing of Covid-19 pandemic-driven movement restrictions. Broad-based buying across Bursa saw the index for small market capitalisation stocks close up 3.17% while the energy gauge, which tracks shares of oil and gas-related companies, was the largest percentage gainer after the index rose 5.27% with crude oil prices, as news on the global easing of Covid-19 pandemic-driven movement restrictions led to expectation of higher demand for the commodity. Sponsored Content On the KLCI, an...

KUALA LUMPUR (May 4): The FBM KLCI closed 31.19 points or 2.22% lower at 1,376.59 today as investors weighed the prospect of renewed US-China trade tension amid a spat over the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic. In Malaysia, the IHS Markit Malaysia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index's (PMI) latest reading, which showed a deterioration in the local industry, also affected market sentiment, according to analysts. Across Bursa Malaysia at 5pm, a total of 5.47 billion shares worth RM2.48 billion had been traded. There were 597 decliners versus 284 gainers. Top decliners included KLCI stocks Public Bank Bhd and Petronas Dagangan Bhd. “Despite the news of the easing of the movement control order (MCO) in Malaysia, market sentiment was affected by the sluggish IHS Markit Malaysia Manufacturing PMI. "The weakness also stemmed from renewed trade tension between the US and China after US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Chines...