MONEY MASTER

KUALA LUMPUR (June 30): The FBM KLCI settled 7.69 points or 0.43% lower at 1,763.67 points today, tracking regional markets as investors turned to profit taking as the mood turned cautious amid expectations that Bank Negara would raise the overnight policy rate (OPR) soon. “There is an absence of window dressing, not just locally but among regional markets. Apart from that, investors are also booking in profits, particularly on worries that Bank Negara Malaysia would raise [key interest rate] in the second half of this year,” TA Securities Holdings Bhd senior technical analyst Stephen Soo told theedgemarkets.com. “Further, there are other uncertainties such as concerns over how the upcoming general election could affect the Malaysian stock market. In the meantime, investors are closely monitoring the stock market and keeping a cautious outlook,” Soo said. Soo added that trading for the time being up until the first half of July this year is expected to rem...

KUALA LUMPUR (June 29): The FBM KLCI ended the trading day almost flat, up only 0.13 points to close at 1,771.36 points, although the regional markets had been lifted by the rebound in the United States. Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng told theedgemarkets.com: “Yesterday night, the US market rebounded; ignoring the warning from US Federal Reserve chair Janel Yellen’s that stock valuations are rich in the US.” “Our side (KLCI) took after the good sentiment from the US,” he added. Wong noticed that the small- and mid-cap stocks had rebounded but not the big cap counters. Hence, the KLCI ended flattish. Across the board, some 1.4 billion shares worth RM1.56 billion were traded. There were 490 gainers and 292 decliners. Over in the US, Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 143.95 points to 21,454.61 on Wednesday — less 75 points from its record high of 21,528.99 points. Meanwhile, S&P 500 was up 21.31 points to 2,440.69 poi...

KUALA LUMPUR (June 21): The FBM KLCI fell 5.14 points or 0.3% on Tenaga Nasional Bhd share losses and as lower crude oil prices hit Bursa Malaysia oil and gas-related shares. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,775.57 points. Tenaga shares fell 14 sen to RM14.18 to become Bursa Malaysia's 7th largest decliner. Tenaga shares fell after the state-controlled utility said the Employees Provident Fund and Permodalan Nasional Bhd cut their respective stakes in Tenaga. On the broader market, analysts said investors could be taking profit across Bursa Malaysia ahead of the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays starting this Sunday (June 25). Malaysian markets will be closed this Monday and Tuesday (June 26 and 27) for Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Today, Jupiter Securities Sdn Bhd analyst Benny Lee told theedgemarkets.com: “Because of the long weekend for Malaysia, investors might be taking profit, so we might see a downtrend but the market should pick up after Hari Raya.” Acro...