KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended on a softer note today as investors engaged in profit-taking following the recent rebound in the local market, an analyst said. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined by 0.65 per cent, or 11.19 points, to 1,700.84 from last Friday's close of 1,712.03. The benchmark index opened 1.56 points lower at 1,710.47 and moved between 1,699.94 and 1,712.32 throughout the trading session. Market breadth was negative, with decliners outnumbering gainers 560 to 481. A total of 608 counters were unchanged, 1,649 untraded, and 14 suspended. Turnover slipped to 3.29 billion units worth RM2.40 billion from 3.45 billion units worth RM3.79 billion on Friday.
Global stocks dipped on Wednesday, with China’s stimulus-fueled rally standing out as a bright spot amid broader declines. European markets fell 0.1%, while Wall Street futures pointed to losses, with S&P 500 futures down 0.2%. Oil and gas shares led the losses, as concerns mounted that China’s stimulus might not sufficiently boost demand.
The US dollar weakened, hitting a one-month low against the euro and a two-and-a-half-year low against the British pound, following US consumer confidence data that showed the largest decline since August 2021. This data increased expectations of a 50-basis point interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s next meeting in November.
In China, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) followed its broad policy easing with a cut to medium-term lending rates. Mainland Chinese blue-chip stocks rose 1.4%, adding to a 4.3% gain from the previous day. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index also climbed 0.7%.
Despite the stimulus measures, some analysts expressed skepticism about their effectiveness in addressing China’s economic imbalances, particularly weak consumer demand. "It's still short of what’s needed to handle the broad imbalances," said Samy Chaar, chief economist at Lombard Odier.
In currency markets, the yuan briefly surged past the key 7-per-dollar level, while the euro and Japanese yen saw modest gains. Gold reached a record peak at US$2,670.43, and crude oil prices retreated from multi-week highs, with Brent crude slipping 0.5% to US$74.80 per barrel.
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