Late push for KLCI as ringgit and CPO rally
09.11.2020 (www.thestar.com.my) - KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips rallied in late trade on Monday, underpinned by gains in Petronas stocks and telcos, while the ringgit was up nearly half a percent against the US dollar and crude palm oil (CPO) futures were at an eight-year high.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI was up 4.68 points or 0.31% to 1,524.32. Turnover was 11.70 billion shares valued at RM4.62bil. There were 621 gainers, 533 losers and 420 counters unchanged.
Earlier, the 30-stock KLCI slumped into the red after Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim warned Pakatan Harapan may not support Perikatan Nasional’s Budget 2021 in Parliament if the concerns of its lawmakers are not addressed.
However, in the last hour, sentiment perked up, boosted by the rally in European and key Asian markets amid optimism about the outlook for risk assets during a Joe Biden presidency.
Reuters reported the MSCI All-Country World Index rose as much as 0.5% to 595.98 on Monday, surpassing the intraday high of 595.24 set Sept 3.
The ringgit rose 0.48% against the US dollar to 4.1095.
US light crude oil rose 78 cents to US$37.92 and Brent gained 77 cents to US$40.22 per barrel.
Petronas Chemicals rose 17 sen to RM6.37 and added 2.09 points to the KLCI and Petronas Dagangan 78 sen to RM19 but Petronas Gas shed eight sen to RM16.10. Dialog shed one sen to RM3.79.
Among the telcos, Maxis gained 15 sen to RM5.30, Digi 11 sen to RM4.11, Telekom 14 sen to RM4.34 while Aixata shed four sen to RM3.16.
CPO for third month delivery rallied RM45 to RM3,226 per tonne – the highest since March 2012 – ahead of the release of the October statistics by MPOB on Tuesday.
IOI Corp, KL Kepong and Sime Plantation gained two sen each to RM4.47, RM22.78 and RM5.14 respectively. However, PPB Group lost 14 sen to RM18.96.
IHH Healthcare rose 13 sen to RM18.22 and added 1.76 points to the KLCI, MISC seven sen to RM6.94, GentingM one sen to RM2.12. Genting lost seven sen to RM2.99, Tenaga four sen to RM10.26.
MAHB fell 19 sen to RM4.33 as the conditional MCO and the weak Turkish lira will weigh on its financial performance.
Among the consumer stocks, Dutch Lady
rose RM1.20 to RM35.70, Nestle 90 sen to RM141 and BAT 76c to RM10.98.
As for chip and tech related stocks, Vitrox rose 46 sen to RM15.48 but MPI fell 52 sen to RM23.26.
Supermax fell 15 sen to RM9.63, Top Glove two sen to RM8.48 but Hartalega gained two sen to RM18.22.
Among the banks, Maybank lost six sen to RM7.12, CIMB and Hong Leong Bank four sen each to RM3.06 and RM14.70 but Public Bank climbed eight sen to RM15.30 and RHB Bank three sen to RM4.38.