KUALA LUMPUR: All key Asian markets closed higher on Thursday while the FBM KLCI managed to hang on to most of its gains as investor sentiment was underpinned by the firm crude oil prices and also a stronger ringgit.
The biggest movers among the KLCI stocks were Malayan Banking Bhd
, Sime Darby Bhd and Petronas Chemicals which added a total of 4.11 points to the 30-stock index.
At 5pm, the KLCI was up 4.68 points or 0.28% to 1,669.64. Turnover was 1.84 billion shares valued at RM1.74bil. The broader market was steadier with 448 gainers to 342 losers and 410 counters unchanged.
The ringgit rose against the major currencies, cimbing to 4.1202 to the US dollar from 4.1383 at the previous close while it was at 5.3524 to the pound sterling from 5.3760. It rose to 3.0220 against the Singapore dollar from 3.0387 and advanced to 4.6197 against the Euro from 4.6412.
However, after the surge the previous day, oil prices slipped on Thursday as investors questioned whether an OPEC agreement to curb oil production - the group's first such deal since 2008 - would be enough to rebalance a heavily over-supplied world market, Reuters reported.
US light crude oil rose fell 25 cents to US$46.80 and Brent was down 46 cents to US$48.23.
Borneo Oil rose 0.5 sen to 18.5 sen and it was the most active with 97.4 million shares done, Bumi Armada added three sen to 72 sen while Sumatec was flat at 8.5 sen and Perisai lost one sen to 13 sen.
Petronas Chemicals rose nine sen to RM6.69 and nudged the KLCI up 1.19 points, Petronas Gas added two sen to RM21.88 and Petronas Dagangan was flat at RM23.46. SapuraKencana rose seven sen to RM1.57.
Among the consumer stocks, BAT rose RM1.46 to RM50.58, Nestle fell 22 sen to RM79 and F&N was down 12 sen to RM24.06.
Poultry companies were among the top gainers, with Lay Hong up 34 sen to RM10.24 and Huat Lai gaining 25 sen to RM4.55.
Crude palm oil for third-month delivery rose RM5 to RM2,610 per tonne. Sime Darby rose 12 sen to RM7.77 and pushed the KLCI up 1.26 points, PPB Group gained eight sen to RM16.26, IOI Corp edged up one sen to RM4.52 but United Plantations fell 48 sen to RM27.50, Genting Plantations lost 22 sen to RM10.66, KL Kepong was down four sen to RM24.04,
As for big cap stocks, Genting Malaysia fell 11 sen to RM4.59 but Genting Bhd added five sen to RM8.04, Tenaga Nasional fell six sen to RM14.36 while MISC added three sen to RM7.59.
Maybank rose 10 sen to RM7.62 and it was the biggest mover among the KLCI stocks, pushing the index up 1.66 points. CIMB Group and Hong Leong Bank were flat at RM4.82 and RM13.10 while Public Bank shed six sen to RM19.88.
Axiata Group rose five sen to RM5.42, Digi inched up one sen to RM5.01, Maxis fell two sen to RM6.18 while Telekom was flat at RM6.79.
Among the key regional markets,
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rallied 1.39% to 16,693.71;
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.51% to 23,739.47;
CSI 300 added 0.42% to 3,244.39;
Shanghai’s Composite Index rose 0.36% to 2,998.48;
Hang Seng China Enterprise advanced 0.77% to 9,794.33;
Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.83% to 9,270.90;
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.76% to 2,068.72 and
Singapore’s Straits Times Index ended up 0.89% to 2,883.57.
Spot gold rose 27 cents to US$1,321.80.
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