KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 2): Stocks on Bursa Malaysia closed on a firm note on Thursday, with the FBM KLCI advancing nearly 16 points, supported by gains in bigger capitalised stocks including Maybank, Public Bank, conglomerate Sime Darby and DiGi.
Trading volume was high with nearly 2.6 billion units transacted in a market which also saw active trade in smaller capitalised stocks. The broader market was firmer, with advancing counters beating decliners more than two to one.
At 5pm, the 30-stock KLCI was up 15.8 points to 1,537.09 and year-to-date, it is up 3.37%. Turnover was 2.58 billion shares valued at RM2.86 billion. There were 643 gainers, 286 losers and 298 counters unchanged.
Among the key regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up 2% at 20,739.45. The China Enterprises Index of top mainland listings in Hong Kong ended up 2.93% at 11,583.47. The Shanghai Composite Index finished up 1.96% at 2,312.56.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.76% to 8,876.82 while Taiwan’s Taiex added 1.37% to 7,652.46 but Singapore’s Straits Times Index reversed into the red in late trade, down 0.06% to 2,903.04.
Meanwhile, European shares hit a six-week high on Thursday adding to solid gains after global manufacturing data eased fears about the growth outlook, but with Greek debt talks unresolved, gains were limited.
OSK Research said it indeed the KLCI performs well over the next 15 days in line with a global rally, it would be forced to rethink our bearish view for 1H12.
“Instead, we may upgrade our call on the market to a NEUTRAL from the current Sell, and may well promote more cyclical sectors such as Oil & Gas and CONSTRUCTION [].
“While the market may subsequently turn south after a 1Q rally, still the flush of liquidity in the system may keep it resilient for most of the year. For now, we remain Defensive with Consumer stocks and other defensive mid-cap plays likely to outperform still in the short term,” it said.
Among the index-linked stocks, DiGi rose 14 sen to RM4.10, adding 2.58 points to the KLCI. Maybank added 14 sen to RM8.34, Public Bank 20 sen to RM13.74, pushing the index up by 2.48 points and 2.23 points. Sime Darby’s 14 sen gain to RM9.28 added nearly two points.
Hartalega was the top gainer, adding 41 sen to RM7.63, deemed a favourite among glove maker while among PLANTATION []s, United Plantations added 36 sen to RM20.70, SOP 29 sen to RM6.44 and PPB 26 sen to RM17.22.
Among oil and gas players, SapuraCrest jumped 32 sen to RM5.18 and Kencana 17 sen to RM3.29 ahead of the completion of their merger.
Among the decliners were Glenealy, down 15 sen to RM7.22 with 12,100 shares but the RM7.50 takeover price by Samling provided the support for the plantation stock which had run up earlier this week.
RHB Cap fell 14 sen to RM6.98, TDM 11 sen to RM4.57 and KLK 10 sen to RM25.60.
Trading volume was high with nearly 2.6 billion units transacted in a market which also saw active trade in smaller capitalised stocks. The broader market was firmer, with advancing counters beating decliners more than two to one.
At 5pm, the 30-stock KLCI was up 15.8 points to 1,537.09 and year-to-date, it is up 3.37%. Turnover was 2.58 billion shares valued at RM2.86 billion. There were 643 gainers, 286 losers and 298 counters unchanged.
Among the key regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up 2% at 20,739.45. The China Enterprises Index of top mainland listings in Hong Kong ended up 2.93% at 11,583.47. The Shanghai Composite Index finished up 1.96% at 2,312.56.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.76% to 8,876.82 while Taiwan’s Taiex added 1.37% to 7,652.46 but Singapore’s Straits Times Index reversed into the red in late trade, down 0.06% to 2,903.04.
Meanwhile, European shares hit a six-week high on Thursday adding to solid gains after global manufacturing data eased fears about the growth outlook, but with Greek debt talks unresolved, gains were limited.
OSK Research said it indeed the KLCI performs well over the next 15 days in line with a global rally, it would be forced to rethink our bearish view for 1H12.
“Instead, we may upgrade our call on the market to a NEUTRAL from the current Sell, and may well promote more cyclical sectors such as Oil & Gas and CONSTRUCTION [].
“While the market may subsequently turn south after a 1Q rally, still the flush of liquidity in the system may keep it resilient for most of the year. For now, we remain Defensive with Consumer stocks and other defensive mid-cap plays likely to outperform still in the short term,” it said.
Among the index-linked stocks, DiGi rose 14 sen to RM4.10, adding 2.58 points to the KLCI. Maybank added 14 sen to RM8.34, Public Bank 20 sen to RM13.74, pushing the index up by 2.48 points and 2.23 points. Sime Darby’s 14 sen gain to RM9.28 added nearly two points.
Hartalega was the top gainer, adding 41 sen to RM7.63, deemed a favourite among glove maker while among PLANTATION []s, United Plantations added 36 sen to RM20.70, SOP 29 sen to RM6.44 and PPB 26 sen to RM17.22.
Among oil and gas players, SapuraCrest jumped 32 sen to RM5.18 and Kencana 17 sen to RM3.29 ahead of the completion of their merger.
Among the decliners were Glenealy, down 15 sen to RM7.22 with 12,100 shares but the RM7.50 takeover price by Samling provided the support for the plantation stock which had run up earlier this week.
RHB Cap fell 14 sen to RM6.98, TDM 11 sen to RM4.57 and KLK 10 sen to RM25.60.
