MONEY MASTER

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 30): The FBM KLCI inched up at the eleventh hour to finish the last trading day of the year higher on window dressing in selected counters. The benchmark index closed at 1,641.73 points, up 3.8 points or 0.23% when compared to Thursday's close. Top gainers, which advanced in late trading, included British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT), Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd and KLCC Stapled Group. Earlier, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com that the market was down on profit-taking by some investors following three days of gains by the KLCI. "The performance of the index [is] also in tandem with the weak performance from the overnight Wall Street," he added. Going forward, he expects the key index to trade between 1,610 and 1,650 points as there was no catalyst in sight yet. "Further, there was also uncertainty surrounding the policy of the Donald Trump presidency," ...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 29): The FBM KLCI rose for the third consecutive day today, rising 0.47% or 7.63 points to close at 1,637.93. The broader market, however, was mixed with trading remaining subdued as most investors were staying away during this year-end holiday season. Mercury Securities Sdn Bhd research head Edmund Tham said the local stock market is still performing below expectations. "The sentiment is not that great as we speak and the market today is still not very sound," he said when contacted over the phone. "Trade volumes have yet to fully recover and we might only see some recovery once traders are back from the year-end break." "However, the ringgit is stabilising, with oil prices hovering between US$53 (RM237.68) and US$54 per barrel. For starters, this is an advantage to us as we are an oil-exporting country," he added. Going forward, he said investors are expected to pay close attention to the construction industry...

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 28): The FBM KLCI rose for the second consecutive day today after the Christmas holiday break, buoyed by positive regional indices. Trading, however, remained thin. The KLCI's rise was helped by gains in select blue chips such as British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd, Genting Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd. The indicator closed at the day's high of 1,630.30 points, a gain of 10.62 points or 0.66% compared with yesterday's close of 1,619.68 points. The ringgit depreciated 0.1% against the US dollar to 4.4835 as at 4.41pm. In commodities, international traded Brent Crude Index rose 0.37% to US$56.30 (RM252.34) per barrel while US Crude also increased 0.37% to US$54.10 as at 4.34pm. Mercury Securities Sdn Bhd research head Edmund Tham said the local stock market's trend is likely to depend on external factors such as the performance of the US and Chinese markets. "Trading volume is likely to remain thin as many traders a...