KLCI snaps winning streak, drops below 1,600-level

KUALA LUMPUR (April 4): The FBM KLCI snapped its winning streak on Wednesday and fell below the 1,600-point level, in line with the retreat at most global markets after on generally weaker sentiment at key regional markets following the overnight dip at Wall Street.

The FBM KLCI fell 7.36 points to close at 1,599.27, weighed by losses and banking and select blue chips.

"Stocks and the euro fell on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve dimmed hopes for fresh asset-buying, further underlining its divergence with an embattled Europe that remains in crisis-fighting mode," according to Reuters.

Overnight minutes from the Fed's March meet showed less support for more quantitative easing (QE), or bond-buying, in the face of improved economic data, which buoyed the dollar and hit stocks in both the United States and Asia, it said.

With Europe still battling its debt crisis and struggling with economic growth, the focus later will be on the European Central Bank's latest rate-setting meeting, with rates expected to remain on hold at 1%, said Reuters.

At the regional markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.29% to 9,819.99, South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.60% to 2,018.61, and Taiwan’s Taiex lost 1.3% to 7,760.85, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index

The Hong Kong and Shanghai markets were closed for a public holiday.

On Bursa Malaysia, among the banking stocks, CIMB and RHB Capital lost nine sen each to RM7.72 and RM7.74, Hong Leong Bank and HLFG lost eight sen each to RM12.38 and RM12.48, AMMB down six sen to RM6.32, while Public Bank shed two sen to RM13.78.

Among the other decliners, BAT fell 64 sen to RM55.58, Dutch lady down 44 sen to RM35.50, Carlsberg fell 20 sen to RM10.60, F&N 18 sen to RM19, Sarawak Oil Palms 13 sen to RM6.81, while BLD PLANTATION []s, Cepco, Shell, Tenaga and PPB fell 10 sen each to RM9.15, RM1.55, RM10.18, RM6.47 and RM16.60 respectively.

GAB was the top gainer and rose 16 sen to RM13.20, Milux gained 15 sen to RM1.40, GBH 13 sen to RM1.25, Kamdar 12.5 sen to 49.5 sen, Malpac and JCY 10 sen each to RM1.59 and RM1.29, Tradewinds Plantations nine sen to RM4.94, Kurasia 6.5 sen to 63.5 sen and Tradewinds up six sen to RM9.60.

The actives included Ingenuity Solutions, Metronic, Cerotech, ManagePay, Naim Indah Corp, Ariantec, JCY and SuperComNet.



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KLCI snaps four-day winning streak, dips at mid-day break

KUALA LUMPUR (APRIL 4): The FBM KLCI snapped its four –day winning streak and retreated at the mid-day break on Wednesday, in line with the generally weaker sentiment at key regional markets following the overnight dip at Wall Street.

Asian shares fell on Wednesday after the minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's March meeting suggested the bank was less inclined to take further stimulus measures, leaving investors looking for more clues to the global growth outlook, according to Reuters

Fed policymakers remained focused on a still elevated jobless rate while noting signs of slightly stronger growth, but the minutes suggested the appetite for further quantitative easing, so-called QE3 has waned significantly in light of an improving U.S. economy, it said.

At the mid-day break, the FBM KLCI was down 5.78 points to 1,600.85, weighed by losses at select blue chips.

Market breadth turned negative with losers leading gainers by 369 to 199, while 315 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 571.84 million shares valued at RM399.87 million.

The ringgit weakend 0.45% to 3.0613 versus the US dollar; crude palm oil futures for the third month delivery rose RM31 per tonne to RM3,530, crude oil shed 32 cents per barrel to US$103.69 whiel gold fell US$1.82 an ounce to US$1,644.30.

At the regional markets, Japan's Nikkei share average abruptly broke below 10,000 to hit a four-week low on Wednesday, after stop-losses were triggered on index futures, raising concerns that Tokyo's strong equities rally so far this year was coming to a halt.

The Nikkei 225 fell 1.59% to 9,890.65, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 1.31% to 20,790.90, Taiwan’s Taiex and South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.3% each respectively to 7,760.85 and 2,022.54 respectively, Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 0.38% to 3,003.16 while the Shangai Composite Index edged up 0.47% to 2,262.79 .

BIMB Securities Research in a note Wednesday said that traders I the US resorted to profit on Tuesday taking amid signs that additional stimulus were diminishing from the Feds latest signal.

As such, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 65 points to just below the 13,200 level.

We find this odd as we interpret this as positive and that the US economy is on auto pilot without the requirement of more financial steroids.

Regionally, Asian markets were slightly higher across the board except for Taiwan being hit hard from rumours that capital gains tax may be imposed on stock trades.

Meanwhile, the FBM KLCI continued with its uptrend with another record high via another 2.9 point gain to close at almost 1,607.

Nonetheless, we noticed that investors are becoming wary of the local bourse’s recent uptrend and believe a correction would emerge anytime soon.

“Foreign funds had again flowed into the market with another net positive of RM203 million yesterday.”

“Despite the foreign buying, we reckon the index may see some retracement today albeit marginally,” it said.

On Bursa Malaysia, Shell was the top loser in the morning session and fell 14 sen to RM10.14, PPB lost 12 sen to RM16.58, Litrak, Carlsberg and AFG fell 10 sen each to RM3.94, RM10.70 and RM3.86 respectively, Sop and Amway lost nine sen each to RM6.85 and RM9.80, Inno down eight sen to RM1.42, while MMHE and RHB Capital fell seven sen each to RM3.39 and RM7.70.

Among the gainers, Milux added 15 sen to RM1.40, Tradewinds and malPac up 10 sen each to RM9.64 and RM1.59, Tradewinds PLANTATION []s seven sen to RN4.92, Ewein and MBM Resources up six sen each to 84 sen and RM4.8, whiel Quality Concrete, Fiamma and NSOP added five sen each to RM1.29, RM1.15 and RM6.15 respectively.



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FBM KLCI closes at all-time high of 1,603.78 points

KUALA LUMPUR (Apr 2): The FBM KLCI erased earlier losses to finish 0.5% or 7.45 points higher at an all-time high of 1,603.78 points on Monday, as sentiments improve ahead of the country's impending general election.

Analysts said technical trading patterns have improved, as investors anticipate the announcement of government projects and other positive updates from policymakers ahead of the election; hence, the anticipation that the gauge could trade higher over the medium and long term.

According to RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd, the FBM KLCI has the potential to reach fresh highs of between 1,663 and 1,704 points, as buying momentum improves.

"Technically, the gap-up in the index last week and the recent change in the short-term outlook to positive (from negative previously) suggest that the index is resuming its uptrend after a three-week consolidation," RHB wrote in a note on Monday.

The equities barometer had earlier fallen as much as 6.06 points, to an intraday low of 1,590.27 at 9.51am.

Across the local exchange, 1.44 billion shares worth RM1.4 billion changed hands, resulting in 400 gainers and 353 declining stocks, while 324 entities were unchanged.

Top gainer DUTCH LADY MILK INDUSTRIES BHD [] rose RM1.24 sen to close at RM35.50, followed by SMPC Corp Bhd, which was up 35 sen to RM2.20.

Decliners included BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (M) [] Bhd, which fell 56 sen to RM56.06, while MALPAC HOLDINGS BHD [] was down 15 sen to RM1.50.

Most active was INGENUITY SOLUTIONS BHD [], which traded unchanged at 10.5 sen with some 233 million shares done.

Across Asian indices on Monday, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.26% to 10,109.8 points, South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.76% to 2,029.29 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.14% to 4,329.27.

Asian markets had found support from better manufacturing updates in China over the weekend. The world's second largest economy's Purchasing Managers' Index, a barometer of the country's manufacturing activity, had risen to 53.1 in March this year, the highest in about a year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.



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High oil prices rein in equities markets

KUALA LUMPUR: High oil prices reined in the regional markets and curb investors’ appetite for equities on concerns of the adverse impact on weaker economies, particularly in Europe.

Another nagging concern was whether Germany's parliament would support the Greek bailout.

At the close, the FBM KLCI managed to eke out a 0.27of a point gain to 1,559.04. Turnover was 1.64 billion shares valued at RM1.63 billion. Losers beat gainers 327 to 455, while 341 counters traded unchanged.

Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.14% to 9,633.93, Singapore's Straits Index 1.05% lower at 2,946.78, South Korea's Kospi 1.42% to 1,991.16 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index 0.88% to 21,217.86.

However, Shanghai’s Composite Index managed to close up 0.30% to 2,447.06 and Taiwan's Taiex 0.28% to 7,959.34.

Reuters reported Brent crude slipped below US$125 on Monday, flagging after five days of gains pushed oil to 10-month highs on worries tension over Iran's disputed nuclear programme could lead to a disruption in Middle East supplies.

Brent has risen 16% this year, after a 13.3 percent gain in 2011, helping weaken recent strong correlations with stock markets.

Meanwhile, the world's 20 leading economies, the G20, piled pressure on Germany at the weekend to drop its opposition to a bigger European bailout fund, telling Europe it must put up extra money if it wanted more help from other countries.

At Bursa Malaysia, penny stocks were among the most active. Naim Indah Corp added one sen to 52.5 sen while Envair also inched up one sen to 30.5 sen.

Harvest Court rose 18 sen to RM1.23 and the warrants 15 sen to 98 sen as speculative interest return to the stock.

Consumer stocks were top gainers, with Dutch Lady up RM1.70 to RM27.5, Carlsberg 25 sen to RM9.70, Panasonic Malaysia and Guinness Anchor, both up by 20 sen to RM21.20 and RM12.94 respectively.

Among the losers were Hong Leong Industries, down 22 sen to RM3.99, Malpac fell 20 sen to RM1.50. Latexx-WA fell 14 sen to RM1.14 and Latexx 13 sen to RM1.55.

However, consumer heavyweight Nestle fell 28 sen to RM54.92,

CIMB Equities Research said earlier on Monday it was maintaining its Underperform call on Nestle at RM55.20 with a target price of RM48.30.

“While we like Nestle’s defensive earnings and huge consumer base, its 27 times FY12 P/E is pricey. We reiterate our Underperform call (DCF-based target price), with the main potential derating catalyst being volatile commodity prices,” it said.



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Telcos give boost, as KLCI closes marginally higher

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 21): Telco stocks led the FBM KLCI to end on a higher note after a weak start earlier on Tuesday, and after Greece secured a second bailout from the European Central Bank (ECB).

The FBM KLCI on Tuesday was 3.94 points higher, or 0.21%, to close at 1,563.78, with telco stocks — like Maxis (up 17 sen to RM5.98), Axiata (up 4.0 sen to RM5.04) and Telekom (up 7.0 sen to RM4.93) — pushing the index up by 2.60 points.

Although it started on a weak footing, the index firmed up after the midday close, in line with regional bourses.

Volume traded was 1.89 billion shares, valued at RM1.75 billion. Losers led gainers 442 to 370, while 345 counters traded unchanged.

Regionally, markets closed on a positive note; however, Asian markets did not rally as expected, after Greece secured €130 billion (RM519.09 billion) for its second bailout.

"It's a relief for markets, broadly speaking, but it doesn't mean that this is the end of the line," said Thomas Lam, economist at DMG & Partners Securities in Singapore, in a report by Reuters. "It's a difficult process, but it's inching in the right direction."

Shanghai's Composite Index closed up 0.75% to 2,381.43, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.25% to 21,478.72, and Singapore's Straits Index increased marginally by 0.13% to 3,025.07. Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.23% to 9,463.02, Taiwan's Taiex fell 0.42% to 7,921.50, and South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.03% to 2,024.24.

On Bursa Malaysia, top gainers included United PLANTATION []s (up 70 sen to RM23.26), Panasonic Malaysia (up 68 sen to RM21.20), Fraser & Neave (up 26 sen to RM17.84), and MALPAC HOLDINGS BHD [] (up 25 sen to RM1.80).

Among top losers were British American Tobacco (down 90 sen to RM53.00), Dutch Lady (down 34 sen to RM25.40), CHIN TECK PLANTATIONS BHD [] (down 20 sen to RM8.66), KLK (down 14 sen to RM24.00), and Nestlé (down 12 sen to RM55.88).

The most actively traded stocks included IFCA MSC BHD [] (up 3.5 sen to 13.5 sen), Green Ocean (up 7.5 sen to 32.5 sen), and Naim Indah Corp (up 1 sen to 48.5 sen).



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KLCI closes lower in line with weaker regional sentiment

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 6): The FBM KLCI closed lower on Tuesday, in line with the weaker sentiment at key regional markets.

Asian and European stocks, bond futures, and the euro were sent reeling on Tuesday by the shock warning from Standard & Poor's that it might downgrade euro zone countries en masse if no credible plan to solve the debt crisis emerges at a summit later this week, according to Reuters.

The FBM KLCI fell 9.03 points to close at 1,480.92.

Losers led gainers by 493 to 255, while 281 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 2.26 billion shares valued at RM1.31 billion.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.24% to 18,942.23, Taiwan’s Taiex lost 2% to 6,956.28, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.39% to 8,575.16, South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.04% to 1,902.82, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.31% to 2,325.90 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.61% to 2,749.24.

Among the decliners on Bursa Malaysia, KLK fell 30 sen to RM21.68, Tasek 20 sen to RM7.80, Proton 19 sen to RM4.31, Aeon 15 sen to RM7.20, BAT 14 sen to RM47.96, Yahorng 13 sen to 47 sen, while BRDB and CIMB fell 12 sen each to RM2.02 and RM7.09.

Orient was the top gainer and rose 31 sen to RM4.79; Dutch Lady and LPI Capital added 20 sen each to RM25.10 and RM13.10, SHL added up 15 sen to RM1.30, Tradewinds PLANTATION []s 14 sen to RM4.56, South Acids 13 sen to RM2.32, while United Plantations and Malpac were up 12 sen each to RM18.48 and RM1.40.

Utopia was the most actively traded counter with 160 million shares done. The stock added two sen to 12 sen.

Other actives included Sanichi, Compugates, Proton securities, MBF Holdings warrants and DRB-Hicom securities.



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