KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips fell early Tuesday, weighed down by losses in plantations and Petronas Gas while the broader market was cautious, tracking the key Asian markets.
At 9.53am, the KLCI was down 3.52 points or 0.2% to 1,626.62. Turnover was 302.41 million shares valued at RM221.59mil. There were 187 gainers, 237 losers and 245 counters unchanged.
The ringgit rose 0.24% in early trade to 4.1070 from 4.1170 the previous day.
Asian shares wobbled in early trade on Tuesday and were on track for a monthly loss, while the dollar edged away from recent peaks scaled on heightened expectations the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as soon as next month, Reuters reported.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat in early trading, ending more than 2% lower for the month.
US light crude oil futures were trading at US$49.50 per barrel, up 17 cents from their last settlement. Demand in North America is set to pick up along with the official start of the U.S. summer driving season this week, the wire report said.
International oil markets, however, were hit by a rise in Middle Eastern crude exports, most of which go to Asia. Brent crude oil futures were trading at US$49.65 a barrel, down 11 cents from their last close.
Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research said traders were likely to stay cautious as the local market was expected to remain choppy and volatile on Tuesday, ahead of the ECB interest rate decision and US economic data, which may give some clues on likelihood of US interest rate hike.
“Moreover, local earnings result jitters may weigh down on market consensus for the KLCI year-end target,” it said in its market outlook.
Genting Plantations fell the most, down 18 sen to RM10.44, PPB Group and KL Kepong 16 sen each to RM16.12 and RM22.88.
Petronas Gas lost 10 sen to RM21.54.
Lafarge fell 18 sen to RM7.85 after the release of its disappointing results last week. QL Resources was down 13 sen to RM4.30.
Panasonic Malaysia was among the top gainers, up 40 sen to RM30.10 while PIE added 26 sen to RM12.26 and MFCB 10 sen to RM1.80.
Nestle rose 46 sen to RM76 with 100 shares done while F&N gained 18 sen to RM23.92 and BAT 16 sen to RM50.78.
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