KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia gave up earlier gains to end mixed today, amid a higher regional market showing, as property, construction, and healthcare counters attracted buying interests, while plantation, banking, and telecommunication stocks saw some profit-taking, an analyst said. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 1.70 points to close at 1,602.34 from yesterday’s close of 1,604.04. The benchmark index, which opened 0.86 of-a-point lower at 1,603.18, moved between 1,601.02 and 1,608.88 during the trading session. However, the broader market was mixed to higher, with gainers leading decliners by 565 to 438 while 502 counters remained unchanged, 961 untraded, and 14 suspended. Turnover narrowed to 2.83 billion units valued at RM2.08 billion versus 2.96 billion units valued at RM2.23 billion yesterday. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the benchmark index remained range-bound and it required a dec
Malaysia's producer price index (PPI), which tracks price changes of goods at the producer level, declined by 2.1% year-on-year in September, marking a downturn after seven consecutive months of growth, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin attributed the biggest decline to the mining sector, which saw a 16.1% drop (August: -8.3%), driven by reductions in the extraction of crude petroleum (-18.6%) and natural gas (-7.9%).
The manufacturing sector also contracted, falling 1.5% (August: +1.0%), largely due to a steep decline in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (-18.7%).
In contrast, the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector grew by 5.8% (August: 2.7%), with a notable increase in the growing of perennial crops index (11.2%). Utility sectors also showed positive growth, with the water supply index rising 7.8% and the electricity and gas supply index inching up by 0.3%.
On a month-on-month basis, the PPI for local production decreased by 1.5% in September, following a 0.9% decline in August. Most sectors saw a reduction, except for the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector, which posted a 1.6% increase.
For the third quarter of 2024 (3Q2024), the PPI saw a marginal decrease of 0.2%, compared to 1.6% in 2Q2024, primarily due to the performance of the mining sector (-7.7%).
Looking at global trends, US PPI rose at a slower pace of 1.8% in September, while Japan's PPI increased by 2.8%, up from 2.6% in the previous month.
Mohd Uzir also noted that global oil prices settled at US$74 per barrel, the lowest level since December 2021, and crude palm oil prices are projected to stay around RM4,000 per tonne by year-end, with the potential for further increases due to lower production and stock levels.
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