MONEY MASTER

  KUALA LUMPUR (June 30): The FBM KLCI closed by more than 1% today on investors’ concern about Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 figures and economic outlook. The benchmark index closed 15.68 points or 1.01% lower at 1,532.63. Twenty-five of the 30 index-linked counters finished in the red, led by Digi.Com Bhd (down 3.5% or 15 sen at RM4.13), Sime Darby Plantation Bhd (down 3.16% or 13 sen at RM3.98) and Top Glove Corp Bhd (down 3.02% or 13 sen at RM4.17). The market breadth was negative with losers outnumbering gainers by 663 to 307, while 425 counters were unchanged. Total volume stood at 4.65 billion shares worth RM2.67 billion. Remisier Jeffry Azizi Jaafar said investor sentiment was dented by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz’s statement yesterday that the government's official gross domestic product (GDP) forecast of between 6% and 7.5% this year will need to be revised downwards. Going forward, Jeffry said the KLCI’s downside risk remains amid slo...

  KUALA LUMPUR (June 29): The FBM KLCI eked out marginal gains today, as regional markets mostly sagged. At 5pm, the benchmark index closed up 3.6 points or 0.23% at 1,548.31, after trading between 1,541.72 and 1,549.26. The broader market was mixed with gainers beating losers by 505 to 430, while 471 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 4.79 billion shares valued at RM2.59 billion. Rakuten Trade head of research Kenny Yee said the investors’ sentiment remained cautious today, following yesterday’s heavy selldown, suggesting a tepid response to the latest PEMULIH stimulus package introduced by the government. “The cautious market sentiment also took cues from the weak regional performance today,” Yee added. Among the 30 constituents, Sime Darby Bhd led the pack as the biggest gainer and was higher by 3.29% or seven sen to close at RM2.20. This was followed by Hartalega Holdings Bhd (up 2.6% or 19 sen to settle at RM7.49) and Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd (rose 1.8% or 14 se...

  KUALA LUMPUR (June 28): The FBM KLCI closed 0.96% lower after lingering in negative territory for the entire session on broad-based selling as investors weighed the impact of further extension of the full lockdown. The benchmark index dropped 14.97 points to 1,544.71, its lowest level since Nov 9, 2020. It opened 2.22 points lower at 1,557.46 and dropped to as low as 1,539.60. The broader market was also down with 975 counters closing lower against 133 gainers, while 343 stocks closed unchanged. Some 4.73 billion shares worth RM2.38 billion were traded. Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong said the extension of the current movement control order (MCO 3.0) had affected investor sentiment, resulting in the heavy selldown. “The lockdown extension has sparked concern that the economic recovery may stall for even longer,” he said when contacted. Leong, however, expects the KLCI to rebound going forward against the backdrop of the new stimulus package ...