KLCI inches higher early Monday

KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips inched up in early Monday trade after a hesitant start, reflecting the cautious mood.

At 9.44am, the KLCI was up 2.24 points to 1769.20. Turnover was 248.1 million shares valued at RM135.4mil. There were 264 gainers and 148 losers.

Dealers said the rising North Korea-US tensions continued to take a toll on investor confidence – mirroring the downbeat trading this morning.

“The FBM KLCI might open with a positive bias today after Wall Street staged a tentative rally at the end of a week in which global markets were jolted out of their summer torpor by a sharp escalation of tensions between the US and North Korea,” PublicInvest said.

It added that the warning by Donald Trump, US President, on Tuesday that Pyongyang risked “fire and fury” if it threatened the US — and North Korea’s response that it was considering strikes near the island of Guam — set the scene for a nervous week.

US markets climbed slightly higher on Friday amid geopolitical uncertainty between the US and North Korea.

European stocks plunged on investor concern of rising tension between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks bounced on Monday after three losing sessions, tracking a firmer Wall Street, while the dollar was weighed down by weak U.S. inflation data which dampened prospects of another Federal Reserve interest rate hike later this year.

Reuters reported that investors awaited a batch of Chinese data due later in the session, including industrial output and retail sales.

The readings are expected to show continued solid growth but markets are edgy after softer-than-expected trade data last week.

At Bursa, KESM rose 58 sen to RM14.40, MPI added 38 sen to RM13.14  while Carlsberg gained 28 sen to RM14.98.

Earlier, UEM Edgenta Bhd announced that it planned to to dispose of its 61.2% equity stake, or 90.51 million shares in its New Zealand-based subsidiary, Opus International Consultants Limited (OIC) for NZ$161.1mil (RM504.1mil) or NZ$1.78 per share.

UEM Edgenta said it had received a notice of intention from WSP Global Inc, a Canadian company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange that provides management and consultancy services to the built and natural environment.