MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Geopolitial Woes Weigh on KLCI, Public Bank Rebounds (Update)
Geopolitial Woes Weigh on KLCI, Public Bank Rebounds (Update)
21/07/2014 (The Star) - The FBM KLCI was down at midday on Monday, dragged by losses in Petronas-linked stocks on lack of buying interest due to the ongoing global geopolitical concerns but Public Bank rebounded from last Friday's selling.
At 12.30pm, the KLCI was down 2.34 points to 1,870.63. Turnover was 1.388 billion shares valued at RM954.11mil. There were 337 gainers, 375 decliners and 330 counters unchanged.
Last Friday, foreign funds were net sellers of Malaysian equities following the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine.
However, at the start of the week, Asian stocks were a fraction firmer on Monday as investors set aside geopolitical concerns for the moment to focus on the generally upbeat flow of US corporate earnings ahead of a host of results due this week.
Volumes were light, however, with Japanese markets on holiday. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.24%, with small gains for most markets across Asia.
Meanwhile, BIMB Research said it expects trading on the local bourse to be mixed today as sentiments may turned defensive and see the immediate support for the index at 1,870.
At Bursa Malaysia, Petronas Gas fell 32 sen to RM23.46 and Petronas Dagangan was down 16 sen to RM20.56. Gas Malaysia fell five sen to RM3.47.
Crude palm oil fell RM17 to RM2,292. Among the plantations, KL Kepong fell 24 sen to RM23.60, PPB Group 10 sen to RM14.42 and IOI Corp two sen to RM5 but Batu Kawan added 18 sen to RM19.84.
As for consumer stocks Dutch Lady lost 20 sen to RM46.20 and BAT 14 sen lower at RM68.16.
Among the telcos, Maxis fell the most, down four sen to RM6.72.
On a more positive note, Public Bank rose 18 sen to RM20.20, rebounding from last Friday's selling.
Chip and semicon related counters were among the gainers with MPI up 20 sen to RM6.37 and KESM 20 sen higher at RM3.
Press Metal rose 19 sen to RM4.86 and PresBhd added 15 sen to RM2.38.
IGB Corp rose three sen to RM2.87 after it received a takeover offer from major shareholder Goldis at RM2.88 a share. Goldis fell nine sen to RM2.30.
Public Invest Research described Goldis' takeover offer for IGB Corp at RM2.88 as unattractive and downgraded IGB from Outperform to Neutral.
The research house said the offer at RM2.88, which was just four sen above the pre-suspension price of RM2.44, was undervaluing IGB's assets.
The ringgit strengthened against the US dollar to 3.1755 from 3.1832 the previous close.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.01% to 15,215.71;
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.01% to 23,457. 16;
Shanghai’s Composite Index fell 0.18% to 2,055.45;
Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.41% to 9,439.30;
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.02% to 2,019.74;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.07% to 3,312.92.
US light crude oil fell 10 cents to US$103.03.
Brent rose four cents to US$107.28.
Spot gold rose US$1.23 to US$1,312.11.
At 12.30pm, the KLCI was down 2.34 points to 1,870.63. Turnover was 1.388 billion shares valued at RM954.11mil. There were 337 gainers, 375 decliners and 330 counters unchanged.
Last Friday, foreign funds were net sellers of Malaysian equities following the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine.
However, at the start of the week, Asian stocks were a fraction firmer on Monday as investors set aside geopolitical concerns for the moment to focus on the generally upbeat flow of US corporate earnings ahead of a host of results due this week.
Volumes were light, however, with Japanese markets on holiday. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.24%, with small gains for most markets across Asia.
Meanwhile, BIMB Research said it expects trading on the local bourse to be mixed today as sentiments may turned defensive and see the immediate support for the index at 1,870.
At Bursa Malaysia, Petronas Gas fell 32 sen to RM23.46 and Petronas Dagangan was down 16 sen to RM20.56. Gas Malaysia fell five sen to RM3.47.
Crude palm oil fell RM17 to RM2,292. Among the plantations, KL Kepong fell 24 sen to RM23.60, PPB Group 10 sen to RM14.42 and IOI Corp two sen to RM5 but Batu Kawan added 18 sen to RM19.84.
As for consumer stocks Dutch Lady lost 20 sen to RM46.20 and BAT 14 sen lower at RM68.16.
Among the telcos, Maxis fell the most, down four sen to RM6.72.
On a more positive note, Public Bank rose 18 sen to RM20.20, rebounding from last Friday's selling.
Chip and semicon related counters were among the gainers with MPI up 20 sen to RM6.37 and KESM 20 sen higher at RM3.
Press Metal rose 19 sen to RM4.86 and PresBhd added 15 sen to RM2.38.
IGB Corp rose three sen to RM2.87 after it received a takeover offer from major shareholder Goldis at RM2.88 a share. Goldis fell nine sen to RM2.30.
Public Invest Research described Goldis' takeover offer for IGB Corp at RM2.88 as unattractive and downgraded IGB from Outperform to Neutral.
The research house said the offer at RM2.88, which was just four sen above the pre-suspension price of RM2.44, was undervaluing IGB's assets.
The ringgit strengthened against the US dollar to 3.1755 from 3.1832 the previous close.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.01% to 15,215.71;
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.01% to 23,457. 16;
Shanghai’s Composite Index fell 0.18% to 2,055.45;
Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.41% to 9,439.30;
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.02% to 2,019.74;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.07% to 3,312.92.
US light crude oil fell 10 cents to US$103.03.
Brent rose four cents to US$107.28.
Spot gold rose US$1.23 to US$1,312.11.