KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 18): The FBM KLCI fell 0.26% at midday break today as sentiment turned bearish.
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI fell 4.68 points to 1,823.95. The index had earlier in the morning risen to a high of 1,831.32.
Losers led gainers by 515 to 157, while 611 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 2.97 billion shares, valued at RM1.41 billion.
The top losers included Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd, Magni-Tech Industries Bhd, Lysaght Galvanized Steel Bhd, Keck Seng (M) Bhd, Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd and AMMB Holdings Bhd.
The actives included Sumatec Resources Bhd, UMW Oil & Gas Corp Bhd, NetX Holdings Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd, Sino Hua-An International Bhd, PUC Bhd, Borneo Oil Bhd and Diversified Gateway Solutions Bhd.
The gainers included United Plantations Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd, Top Glove Corp Bhd, Globetronics Technology Bhd, Parlo Bhd, APM Automotive Holdings Bhd, Zhulian Corp Bhd, Malaysia Pacific Industries Bhd and Westports Holdings Bhd.
Asian stocks struck record highs on Thursday, with a rally by Wall Street supporting bullish investor sentiment, while the dollar pulled back from three-year lows as comments by European Central Bank officials tempered the euro’s recent rally, according to Reuters.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2%, building on the previous day’s gains to make a fresh peak, Reuters said.
Affin Hwang IB senior associate director and head of retail research Datuk Dr Nazri Khan Adam Khan said U.S. stocks surged strongly, pushing the Dow to close above 26,000.
He said the results season picked up steam as investors anticipated higher corporate earnings, shrugging off lackluster sessions in both Europe and Asia.
“The S&P 500 index increased by 0.9% to 2,802.56. The Dow surged 322.79 points to 26,115.65.
“For the local market, stocks are expected to rebound in tandem with key markets like the U.S. market. Medium and long-term investors, both local and foreign, are anticipated to accumulate quality stocks on price weakness.
“The FBM KLCI is expected to test resistance at 1850 soon,” Dr Nazri said.
