MONEY MASTER

KUALA LUMPUR (July 31): The FBM KLCI fell 7.05 points or 0.4% mainly on last-minute selling of index-linked Public Bank Bhd shares and after Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd announced a year-on-year drop in its second quarter net profit. Public Bank shares fell on news founder and chairman Tan Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow "wishes to relinquish his position as chairman" on Jan 1, 2019. Public Bank said this in a statement to Bursa Malaysia today. Lotte Chemical Titan shares declined after the company said net profit dropped to RM113.62 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2017 (2QFY17)from RM404.03 million. At 5pm today, the KLCI closed at 1,760.03 points while Public Bank shares fell 26 sen to RM20.28. Lotte Chemical Titan dropped RM1.43 to RM4.70. Lotte Chemical Titan and Public Bank were the top and third-largest decliners across Bursa Malaysia respectively. Lotte Chemical Titan was also the seventh most-active stock. Inter-Pacific Research...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 28): The recent selling on US tech stocks has dampened the market sentiment on Bursa Malaysia. Nonetheless, the recovery on crude oil prices has triggered interest in selected oil and gas stocks that have been battered down of late. The benchmark FBM KLCI dropped 2.99 points to 1,767.08 points today. For the week, the FBM KLCI, however, gained 0.45% from 1,759.16 last Friday. Share prices were mostly lower today. The scoreboard shows that losers outnumbered gainers in a ratio of 456 to 326, while 411 stocks remained unchanged. Trading volume across the board was slightly higher today at 1.64 billion shares worth RM2.203 billion compared with 1.59 billion shares worth RM1.97 billion yesterday. Head of Research at Inter-Pacific Research Sdn Bhd Pong Teng Siew said buying interest in the local bourse was not strong as market sentiment was affected by the decline in US tech stocks, which created uncertainties ahead. "Investor confidenc...

KUALA LUMPUR (July 27): The FBM KLCI rose 4.07 points or 0.2% with Asian shares after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged. A 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,770.07 points The KLCI traded between its intraday high and low at 1,772.03 and 1,765.84 points respectively. “The higher movement is in line with the rest of Asia after the Federal Reserve's decision,” Mercury Securities Sdn Bhd research head Edmund Tham told theedgemarkets.com. Across Asian share markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.15% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.71%. South Korea’s Kospi increased 0.36%. Reuters reported that stocks, bonds and commodities were all on a roll on Thursday as bulls scented a softening in the Federal Reserve's confidence on inflation that promised to keep US interest rates low for longer. The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark lending rate in a target range of one percent to 1.25 percent, as expected, and said it was on track to continue the...