KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 2): The FBM KLCI rose at mid-morning on Thursday, in line with the gains at the key regional markets, but found it hard to sustains its gains.
At 10am, the FBM KLCI was up 7.87 points to 1,529.16, lifted by gains at select blue chips. The index had initially breached the 1,540-level in very early trade.
Gainers led losers by 388 to 188, while 287 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 628.94 million shares valued at RM519.44 million.
At the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.2% to 29,577.00, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.84% to 8,883.94, the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.19% to 2,272.28, Taiwan’s Taiex rose 1.15% to 7,635.93, South Korea’s Kospi added 1.42% to 1,987.04 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index was up 0.44% to 2,917.59.
OSK Research director Chris Eng Poh Yoon in his February market outlook on Thursday said the research house’s January Sell call on the FBM KLCI was correct as the market dipped slightly, underperforming almost all major markets in the world.
He said its “Alternative” Top Buys also did well in January with four out of its five Top Buys outperforming the FBM KLCI, namely Supermax, JCY, Old Town and Sarawak Oil Palm
Still, markets performed better than expected and the global rally seems sustained by a flush of liquidity from the Long Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO), he said.
“As such, we are keeping a close eye on the market for the 1st half of Feb. If indeed markets continue to do well, we may be forced to abandon our Bearish stance and upgrade the KLCI to a Neutral with a preliminary year-end target of around 1,600 points.
“To note our 1,466 points current Fair Value will remain intact but it’s a Fair Value not a year-end target,” he said.
Eng said an upgrade would likely see the research house more aggressively promoting the CONSTRUCTION [] and O&G sectors, adding that for now, Consumer stocks are the flavor of the month.
“Top Buys are KPJ, MBSB, QL and Media Chinese as well as Padini which should attract interest as a cheap and good consumer stock,” he said.
On Bursa Malaysia, Petronas Gas added 52 sen to RM16.20, BAT 48 sen to RM49.88, Hartalega 47 sen to RM7.69, Ekovest 21 sen to RM2.96, Kretam and Petronas Dagangan 20 sen each to RM2.55 and RM18.30, Malayan Flour Mills 17 sen to RM4.50, United PLANTATION []s 16 sen to RM20.50, IJM Corp 14 sen to RM5.88 and Lafarge Malayan Cement up 12 sen to RM6.80.
Tebrau Teguh was the most actively traded counter after a takeover offer made by Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH), which is offering 76 sen per share – or just one sen above Tebrau’s pre-suspension price of 75 sen.
The stock rose eight sen to 83 sen with 40.7 million shares done.
Other actives included Coastal Contracts, DRB-Hicom, DBE Gurney, UEM Land, Petronas Chemicals, Mudajaya and Jotech.
Decliners included Tahps, Dutch Lady, Melewar, Southern Steel, MPI, Ajinomoto, Glenealy and BHIC.
At 10am, the FBM KLCI was up 7.87 points to 1,529.16, lifted by gains at select blue chips. The index had initially breached the 1,540-level in very early trade.
Gainers led losers by 388 to 188, while 287 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 628.94 million shares valued at RM519.44 million.
At the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.2% to 29,577.00, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.84% to 8,883.94, the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.19% to 2,272.28, Taiwan’s Taiex rose 1.15% to 7,635.93, South Korea’s Kospi added 1.42% to 1,987.04 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index was up 0.44% to 2,917.59.
OSK Research director Chris Eng Poh Yoon in his February market outlook on Thursday said the research house’s January Sell call on the FBM KLCI was correct as the market dipped slightly, underperforming almost all major markets in the world.
He said its “Alternative” Top Buys also did well in January with four out of its five Top Buys outperforming the FBM KLCI, namely Supermax, JCY, Old Town and Sarawak Oil Palm
Still, markets performed better than expected and the global rally seems sustained by a flush of liquidity from the Long Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO), he said.
“As such, we are keeping a close eye on the market for the 1st half of Feb. If indeed markets continue to do well, we may be forced to abandon our Bearish stance and upgrade the KLCI to a Neutral with a preliminary year-end target of around 1,600 points.
“To note our 1,466 points current Fair Value will remain intact but it’s a Fair Value not a year-end target,” he said.
Eng said an upgrade would likely see the research house more aggressively promoting the CONSTRUCTION [] and O&G sectors, adding that for now, Consumer stocks are the flavor of the month.
“Top Buys are KPJ, MBSB, QL and Media Chinese as well as Padini which should attract interest as a cheap and good consumer stock,” he said.
On Bursa Malaysia, Petronas Gas added 52 sen to RM16.20, BAT 48 sen to RM49.88, Hartalega 47 sen to RM7.69, Ekovest 21 sen to RM2.96, Kretam and Petronas Dagangan 20 sen each to RM2.55 and RM18.30, Malayan Flour Mills 17 sen to RM4.50, United PLANTATION []s 16 sen to RM20.50, IJM Corp 14 sen to RM5.88 and Lafarge Malayan Cement up 12 sen to RM6.80.
Tebrau Teguh was the most actively traded counter after a takeover offer made by Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH), which is offering 76 sen per share – or just one sen above Tebrau’s pre-suspension price of 75 sen.
The stock rose eight sen to 83 sen with 40.7 million shares done.
Other actives included Coastal Contracts, DRB-Hicom, DBE Gurney, UEM Land, Petronas Chemicals, Mudajaya and Jotech.
Decliners included Tahps, Dutch Lady, Melewar, Southern Steel, MPI, Ajinomoto, Glenealy and BHIC.
