KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia was steady early Tuesday despite some mild profit taking of Maxis, Gamuda and UMW after chalking up some firm gains the previous day but crude oil prices slipped and remained near two-month lows
At 9.16am, the KLCI was down 0.54 of a point or 0.03% to 1,653.33. Turnover was 148.13 million shares valued at RM74.52mil. The broader market was firmer with 126 gainers, 108 gainers and 108 counters unchanged.
Foreign funds were seen returning to Bursa Malaysia after 10 weeks of consecutive selling and they were net buyers at RM39.56mil on Monday and local retail investors at RM3.66mil but local institutions were net sellers at –RM43.21mil.
Reuters reported Asian stocks held firm around a 2-1/2-month peak on Tuesday, a day after US shares hit a record high thanks to a combination of upbeat US data and expectations of more stimulus around the world.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose slightly to hit its highest level since late April in early trade. Japan's Nikkei jumped 2.4%.
It reported oil prices remained near two-month lows from the previous trading session on Tuesday as financial traders lost confidence in a recent price rally, switching positions in anticipation of lower prices.
Brent was trading at US$46.13 per barrel at 0027 GMT, down 12 cents from the last close and near to the US$45.90 two-month lows reached the previous day. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 13 cents at US$44.63 a barrel.
Gold was steady early Tuesday after falling in the previous session, with markets assessing whether the latest US jobs data boosted the prospects of an early interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, Reuters reported.
Spot gold was little changed at US$1,354.60 per ounce by 0039 GMT. It fell 0.8% on Monday, its biggest decline in nearly two weeks, to close at US$1,354.85.
At Bursa, Boustead Holdings fell 24 sen to RM2.03 with 265,300 shares done, UMW lost nine sen to RM5.53, Maxis eight sen to RM6.01 while Gamuda and George KKent shed four sen each to RM4.87 and RM2.01.
Carlsberg gave up some recent gains, down 10 sen to RM14.60 but BAT added 64 sen to RM55.64 and F&N 10 sen to RM26.30.
Public Bank rose 10 sen to RM19.44 and its major shareholder LPI Capital six sen higher at RM16.20.
Press Metal
attracted attention after it proposed a share split and bonus issue as part of an internal reorganisation that will see a new entity assume its listed status. It rose seven sen to RM4.01.
Borneo Oil slipped 0.5 sen to 18 sen in active trade after it was queried by Bursa Securities over the unusual high trading volume. Its warrants were flat at 11 sen.
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