Bursa Malaysia ends almost flat

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended marginally lower yesterday in line with regional peers, following the overnight decline on Wall Street, after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) raised interest rates on Wednesday, dealers said.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.08 of-a-point easier to close at 1,798.64 versus from Wednesday’s close of 1,798.72.

After opening 2.77 points lower yesterday at 1,795.95, the index moved between 1,793.83 and 1,803.71 throughout the day.

On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers by 503 to 359, with 380 counters unchanged, 662 untraded and 98 others suspended.

Volume decreased to 1.99 billion units worth RM2.05 billion, from 2.21 billion units valued at RM2.30 billion recorded on Wednesday.

A dealer said Asian stocks declined yesterday as investors digested the Fed’s signal of its confidence in the US economy by lifting the interest rate yesterday, which was mostly expected, while indicating its intent to tighten policy once more in December.

On the local front, shares on Bursa Malaysia were traded range bound, with selling interspersing with buying in heavyweight stocks, while oil and gas stocks continued to take the limelight among the actively traded counters, he said.

“However, concerns over the tone from the Fed and lingering worries over US- China trade tensions have kept gains in check,” he added.

Inregionalmarkets,Singapore’s Strait Times index shed 0.09 per cent to 3,236.26, Japan’s Nikkei 225 decreased 0.99 per cent to 23,796.74, Shanghai’s SSE Index fell 0.54 per cent to 2,791.77, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped by 0.36 per cent to 27,715.67 while South Korea’s Kospi improved 0.70 per cent to 2,355.43.

Among heavyweights, Maybank added one sen to RM9.79, Tenaga improved two sen to RM15.52, Petronas Chemicals gained four sen to RM9.38, CIMB Group slid one sen to RM6.03, while Public Bank was flat at RM25.

For actives, Sapura Energy, V. S. Industry warrant and Hibiscus Petroleum eased one sen each to 42.5 sen, 36.5 sen and RM1.22 sen, respectively, Velesto Energy edged up half-a-sen to 29 sen and Orion IXL gained two sen to 8.5 sen.

The FBM Emas Index was 2.59 points better at 12,547.15, the FBMT 100 Index added 4.86 points to 12,352.68 and the FBM 70 rose 26.56 points to 14,807.61.

The FBM Ace Index eased 8.17 points to 5,244.25, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 6.14 points to 12,701.80.

Sector- wise, the Plantation Index improved 16.0 points to 7,563.26, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.33 of-a-point to 177.53, but the Finance Index was down 3.28 points to 17,813.37.

Main Market volume decreased to 1.42 billion shares worth RM1.92 billion, from 1.52 billion shares worth RM2.11 billion on Wednesday.

Warrants’ turnover decreased to 299.07 million units valued at RM66.82 million, from 315.13 million units valued at RM74.44 million previouly.

Volume on the ACE Market declined to 274.41 million units worthRM67.09million, from376.66 million units worth RM114.46 million on Wednesday.

For further information on stocks and prices, please visit www.bursamalaysia.com.