More gains by local bourse

Malaysia deemed as defensive market amid eurozone uncertainties

which would raise RM10.5bil, and the strong interest from foreign investors also galvanised investors’ interest in Malaysia blue chips.

The KLCI closed 5.50 points higher to 1,580.67 yesterday on improving volume of shares transacted as sentiment improved. Year-to-date, the KLCI is up 3.26%.

Turnover was 1.24 billion shares valued at RM2.9bil yesterday. There were 343 gainers and 375 losers, while 310 counters remained unchanged.

Heavyweight Tenaga Nasional Bhd rose 15 sen to RM6.67, pushing up the KLCI 1.91 points.

PPB Group Bhd jumped 88 sen to RM17 and added 1.64 points to the KLCI. Malayan Banking Bhd rose five sen to RM8.75.

Other gainers include Axiata Group Bhd which gained four sen to RM5.37. Public Bank Bhd added six sen to RM13.76, while Sime Darby Bhd rose four sen to RM9.68. Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd gained 26 sen to RM22.36.

However, regional markets closed lower, weighed down by ongoing concerns of the eurozone debt crisis, especially from Spain, Greece and the latest being Denmark.

Spain’s government debt level to gross domestic product ratio at the end of last year was at 69%, compared to Greece’s 165%.

Spanish bonds recently faced an increase in its yields from 3% to 6% as its banking system was under pressure.

Yesterday, Moody’s Investors Services downgraded nine Danish financial institutions due to deterioration in its loan books and harder debt refinancing.

Most key regional markets remained weak due to ongoing concerns of the eurozone debt crisis. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 1.05% to 8,542.73, Hang Seng index fell 0.32% to 18,629.52 and the Shanghai Composite index fell more than half a percentage to 2,372.23.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.55% to 7,301.50 while South Korea’s Kospi slid 0.08% to 1,843.47. Singapore’s Straits Times index fell 0.41% to 2,772.54.

The head of research expected European markets to remain choppy as it moves into the third quarter. However he added that it would definitely find a solution to its problems before year-end.

He expected the US markets to continue improving, pulling many countries into a more positive state.