MONEY MASTER

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 30): Malaysia stocks closed lower today, with the benchmark FBM KLCI falling 1.94 points or 0.1% as investors booked profits after recent sharp gains. The benchmark index flirted briefly in positive territory in the morning session, opening at 1,865.35 points to touch an intra-day high of 1,872.70 points. At 5pm, it pared its early gains to settle at 1,868.58 points. Market breadth was negative as decliners outpaced gainers by 794 to 252, while 388 counters traded unchanged. TA Securities Holdings Bhd technical analyst Stephen Soo told theedgemarkets.com that profit-taking has kicked in, after stellar gains in the past few days. “The index has risen quite sharply in the past few days to its record high in more than three years. The correction is good as the market has been overbought,”  Soo said. This is in relation to the overnight retreat in Dow Jones and the reversal of the ringgit strength against the greenback, which have ...

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 29): The FBM KLCI rose 16.6 points or 0.9% today, the highest level seen since September 2014. At 5pm, the benchmark index finished at 1,870.52 points, after three billion shares worth RM2.49 billion were traded across the board. The last time the index closed near this level was on Sept 10, 2014, when it ended at 1,870.85 points. Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew told theedgemarkets.com that the “unusual" rally in the KLCI today was led by mainly banks and blue chips. “Investors are buying on expectations that the overnight policy rate (OPR) hike is expected to boost the banks’ interest margins. But there is no reason to be wildly bullish on the banks, the rate hike is actually a make up for lost grounds, instead of creating gains for the banks,” he said. Pong went on to say that he expects limited beneficial impact on banks, as the rate hike would merely restore instead of lift margins, unless progr...

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 26): The FBM KLCI gained 0.44% as buying interest resumed during the second half of trading, with the banking sector picking up following the hike in the overnight policy rate (OPR) announced by the central bank yesterday. The benchmark index closed 8.06 points or 0.44% higher at 1,853.92. Hong Leong Investment Bank's head of retail research, Loui Low, said the market is still bullish, supported by foreign investors' interest as well as the gains in banking counters. "The market is still positive especially with the support from foreign investors, especially in an environment where the ringgit is still strong. The pickup seen in the banking sector is also another catalyst as the OPR hike is expected to be mildly positive for some of the banks," Low said. He pointed that companies like AirAsia X Bhd saw a lot of trading today as the market is positive of the stronger ringgit, which will be supportive of the airline c...