KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed lower on Friday amid mixed regional market performance as investors turned cautious over a possible rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and upcoming US economic data that may influence the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate decision next week. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) pared most earlier losses to settle 4.55 points easier, or 0.28 per cent, to 1,616.52 from Thursday’s close of 1,621.07. The benchmark index, which opened 0.37 of-a-point lower at 1,620.70, moved between 1,609.67 and 1,621.25 throughout the day. The broader market was negative, with decliners outpacing advancers 604 to 439. A total of 550 counters were unchanged, 1,151 untraded, and 18 suspended. Turnover declined to 3.17 billion units worth RM2.24 billion from 4.48 billion units worth RM2.75 billion yesterday. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-presiden...
KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): The FBM KLCI today fell 10.71 points or 0.67% today, no thanks to the stubbornly high daily new Covid-19 cases in the country.
The benchmark index closed at 1,597.71 points after it had been at above 1,600 level for four trading days.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong told The Edge today that the weak sentiment was across the board, given that more than about two-thirds of the stocks listed on Bursa Malaysia closed lower today.
“We have been seeing cases still staying above 1,000 new cases over the past two weeks [since it fell to three-digit cases],” said Leong, adding that there are concerns that the government’s decision to extend the CMCO (conditional movement control order) and RMCO (recovery movement control order) could derail a smoother economic recovery.
On the scoreboard, there were 740 losers versus 328 gainers, while 452 counters remained unchanged. Trading volume stood at 6.35 billion shares worth RM3.05 billion.
Despite the fresh waves of infection in some countries, for instance, India, Germany and Japan, the glove makers were among the losers. Top Glove Corp Bhd dropped 3.24% or 17 sen to close at RM5.08. It was followed by Supermax Corp Bhd, down 2.6% or 12 sen at RM4.46, and Hartalega Holdings Bhd, which slipped 2.47% or 24 sen to RM9.46.
Minda Global Bhd hogged the limelight today on news that Top Glove’s controlling shareholder Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai bought a minor stake in the company via share placement.
The education group’s share price shot up to 17.5 sen from six sen at the start of last month. It rose 5.5 sen to close at 17.5 sen — the highest since March 2018.
The hardly traded counter saw 735.6 million shares changing hands, which is equivalent to roughly half of its issued share capital of 1.32 billion shares.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 increased 0.72%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.15%, and South Korea's Kospi grew 1.07%.
Reuters reported that Asian stock markets were broadly positive today after China’s exports grew at a strong pace during March and imports rebounded giving investors heart that domestic demand is improving as part of the recovery from the pandemic.
Imports grew at the fastest pace in four years which analysts said indicated a post-pandemic recovery in Chinese domestic demand, the newswire wrote.
“The trade data helped turn around a weaker tone that was evident earlier in Asia following declines on Wall Street overnight,” said Reuters.
Source: The Edge
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