KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia started Thursday on a cautious note after the overnight fall on Wall Street while the retreat in commodity prices especially oil saw investors staying on the sidelines.
At 9.30am, the FBM KLCI was down 1.5 points or 0.09% to 1,737.45. Turnover was 439.05 million shares valued at RM128.83mil. There were 143 gainers, 207 losers and 296 counters unchanged.
Reuters reported oil prices regained some ground on Thursday after steep losses the previous day, with a slight drop in US crude inventories stoking hopes that a push to rein in global oversupply could be gathering at least some momentum.
Brent crude futures rose 38 cents to US$53.31 per barrel while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures had risen 31 cents to US$50.75 a barrel.
Kenanga Investment Bank Research said despite the following the slight decline in the KLCI on Wednesday -- which fell 1.65 points to 1,738.95 – from a charting perspective, the KLCI’s primary trend is positive with the key SMAs in a Golden Crossover.
“Nevertheless, the shorter term trend reflects a healthy consolidation mode over the past month.
“Although some bargain hunting emerged, the key momentum indicators have yet to show any meaningful improvement in the near term. Hence, investors should wait for a move above 1,743 (R1) which will signal a more decisive resumption of its short and medium term uptrend.
“Next up, resistance can also be found at 1,760 (R2) while downside support levels are 1,727 (S1) and 1,713 (S2),” it said.
Foreign funds turned net sellers on Wednesday at RM76.55mil while local retailers also joined in the profit taking at –RM23.65mil. However, the net selling was absorbed by net buying by local institutions at RM100.2mil.
Genting Bhd
fell eight sen to RM9.62 and Genting Malaysia four sen lower at RM5.61. Among the banks, Public Bank and AFG shed four sen each to RM19.88 and RM3.99.
JHM was the top loser, down just 10 sen to RM4.19 with 1,300 shares done.
Petron Malaysia eased five sen to RM6.50 while Padini lost four sen to RM3.12.
Johan rose three sen to 33 sen with 15.26 million shares done.
SCC was the top gainer, surging 30 sen to RM2 after it proposed a bonus issue and also a share split.
EPMB was up eight sen to 85.5 sen and Scientex seven sen higher at RM8.45.
Magna Prima-WB added seven sen to 69 sen and Magna shares added five sen to RM1.59.
Mid-sized property developer Hua Yang Bhd is acquiring an additional 20.12% stake in Magna Prima, a move that essentially seals its substantial interest in the latter.
Magna Prima’s most prized asset is the 2.62 acres that used to house the Lai Meng School along Jalan Ampang. The land is located just a stone’s throw away from the iconic Petronas Twin Towers.
Hua Yang’s increased investment in Magna Prima, which now stands at 30.96%, makes it the single largest shareholder in the company.
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