KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit erased its earlier gains on Thursday as the FBM KLCI tracked the key Asian markets lower but the bright spot was the plantation stocks as crude palm oil futures reached the May 2014 high.
The KLCI closed down 0.46% or 0.03% to 1,643.95. Turnover was 1.22 billion shares valued at RM1.41bil. Decliners beat advancers 437 to 272 while 302 counters unchanged.
The ringgit lost ground against the major currencies as crude oil prices retreated. The local unit fell to 4.1453 to the US dollar from 4.1217 the previous day. It was quoted at 5.9856 to the pound sterling from 5.9825 and was at 2.9819 to the Singapore dollar from 2.9585.
There was no lead from external markets. Hong Kong shares plunged on Thursday led by mainland-related stocks, with the Hang Seng Index marking its worst daily performance since August as worries about the health of the global economy sparked a sell-off, Reuters reported.
At Bursa Malaysia, crude palm oil for third-month delivery rose RM24 to RM2,591 due to lower output following the El Nino impact.
Heavyweight plantations-to-property Sime Darby rose six sen to RM7.74 while IOI Corp added seven sen to RM4.61. KL Kepong was up 16 sen to RM23.12 and PPB Group two sen to RM15.70.
US light crude oil fell 67 cents to US$26.78 and Brent was down 37 cents to US$30.47 as investors did not expect a cutback in supply amid a faltering demand.
Shell Refining fell 16 sen to RM3.35 as investors viewed the recent sale of its 51% stake at RM1.80 undervalued the company.
Petronas Dagangan rose 10 sen to RM25, Petronas Chemicals added two sen to RM6.96 but Petronas Gas lost four sen to RM22.28. SapuraKencana shed one sen to RM1.78.
Among the banks, RHB Capital lost 10 sen to RM5.25, Hong Leong Bank six sen to RM13.04 while Maybank fell five sen to RM8.54 but Public Bank added two sen to RM18.50 and CIMB Bank five sen to RM4.14.
As for telcos, Axiata fell the most, down nine sen to RM5.59 and erased 1.32 points from the KLCI. Maxis fell seven sen to RM6.14, Digi four sen to RM4.84 and Telekom three sen to RM6.59.
Burn-in tester for semiconductors KESM was the top loser, down 32 sen to RM4.40. Furniture maker Latitude Tree was down 22 sen to RM6.45 while Can-One
was down 14 sen to RM4.21.
Among the consumer stocks, Dutch Lady added 66 sen to RM50.46 and F&N gained 20 sen to RM19.10.
MAHB held on to its gains, up 24 sen to RM5.87.
Among the key regional markets,
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 3.85% to 18,545.80;
Hang Seng China Enterprise fell 4.93% to 7,657.92;
South Korea’s Kospi lost 2.93% to 1,861.54;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index was down 1.7% to 2,538.28.
Spot gold jumped US$19.86 to US$1,216.98.
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