KUALA LUMPUR: Selling of IOI Corporation Bhd
and Tenaga Nasional Bhd sent the FBM KLCI slightly into the red on Wednesday amid a lacklustre market as investor sentiment was dampened by the weaker ringgit and mixed regional markets.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI had slipped into the red, down 0.35 of a point to 1,689.57. Turnover was 1.57 billion shares valued at RM1.57bil. Advancers led decliners 411 to 354 while 407 counters were unchanged.
Bank Negara, had its monetary policy committee meeting on Wednesday, kept the overnight policy rate unchanged at 3%.
However, the central bank cautioned that export growth was expected to remain weak following subdued demand from Malaysia’s key trading partners.
While the ringgit was firmer against the US dollar, it lost ground against the major currencies.
The ringgit was at 4.0615 to the greenback from 4.0815 the previous day. It slipped against the pound sterling to 5.4458 from 5.4452 and was lower against the Singapore dollar at 3.0177 from 3.0075. It weakened against the Euro to 4.5714 from 4.5567.
Oil rose on Wednesday to pare some of the previous day's losses, partly thanks to a weaker US dollar, but the limited likelihood of a near-term agreement among the world's biggest exporters to rein in production kept gains in check. US light crude oil rose 47 cents to US$45.30 and Brent gained 45 cents to US$47.80, Reuters reported.
Hong Kong's benchmark share index slipped on Wednesday, snapping a four-day winning streak, but an index tracking Hong Kong-listed Chinese shares continued to advance as more money flowed in from mainland investors. The Hang Seng index ended down 0.2% at 23,741.81, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.3% to 9,970.19, rising for a fifth straight day, Reuters reported.
Crude palm oil for third-month delivery fell RM27 to RM2,602 per tonne. IOI Corp lost six sen to RM4.45 and erased 1.21 points from the KLCI. However, KL Kepong rose six sen to RM23.80, PPB Group was up four sen to RM16.16 and Sime Darby added two sen to RM7.90. United Plantations and Batu Kawan fell 12 sen each to RM27.66 and RM18 while FGV shed six sen to RM2.21.
Power giant Tenaga fell 12 sen to RM14.56 and wiped out 1.15 points from the KLCI. Westports lost five sen to RM4.45 and MISC three sen lower at RM7.67 while Genting Bhd shed twpo sem to RM7.98.
SK Petro rose one sen to RM1.57 while Petronas Dagangan was flat ay RM23.36, Petronas Chemicals shed one sen to RM6.70 and Petronas Gas was down eight sen to RM22.
As for telcos, Axiata shed two sen to RM5.63, Telekom Malaysia was flat at RM6.89, Maxis gained two sen to RM6.26 and Digi gained three sen to RM5.08.
Among the banks, CIMB lifted the KLCI by 1.04 points when it ended the day up seven sen to RM4.90, Maybank's three sen gain to RM7.90 nudged the index up by 0.51 of a point, Hong Leong Bank added six sen to RM13.20, Public Bank two sen higher at RM19.92 while RHB Bank was flat at RM5.05.
Dutch Lady fell the most on profit taking, down RM1.46 to RM61.34 while BAT lost 20 sen to RM50.92.
Lay Hong was up 17 sen to RM9.81, Bursa added 13 sen to RM8.85 and United-Uli gained 13 sen also to RM4.18.
Globetronics added 26 sen to RM3.31 in active trade as the outlook for the semiconductor sector looked more positive. Global semicon sales picked up in July from a month ago.
Spot gold price shed 75 cents to US$1,349.25.
