Bears on the prowl on Bursa Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI ended September on a downbeat note as foreign selling of Maybank and Public Bank pushed it deeper into the red.
At 5pm, the KLCI was down 2.48 points or 0.14% to 1,755.58 which was a two-month low and the worst losing streak in more than seven years, according to Reuters. Turnover was 2.02 billion shares valued at RM2.13bil. There were 387 gainers, 397 losers and 456 counters unchanged.
On the external front, Hong Kong stocks ended higher on Friday, but the benchmark index posted its first monthly loss this year, an indication the market's upward momentum may be slowing amid worries over U.S. monetary tightening and a China economic slowdown, Reuters reported.
Investors are also awaiting China's 19th Communist Party Congress next month, and the country's third-quarter economic data.
Meanwhile, the ringgit firmed up 0.26% to the US dollar to 4.2205 and gained 0.1% versus the pound sterling to 5.6469 but slipped 0.05% to the Singapore dollar to 3.108 and fell 0.07% to the euro at 4.9816.
Public Bank fell 14 sen to RM20.44, Maybank lost four sen to RM9.53 but AmBank added five sen to RM4.36 and Hong Leong Bank eight sen higher at RM15.86 while CIMB edged up three sen to RM6.30.
Crude palm oil lost RM10 to RM2,695 per tonne. IOI Corp fell four sen to RM4.54 but KL Kepong and PPB Group added two sen each to RM24.56 and RM16.86 while Sime Darby edge dup one sen to RM9.02.
Oil prices climbed higher with Brent gaining 23 cents to US$57.64 and US light crude two cents up to US$51.58. However, the higher prices failed to buoy the oil heavyweights as Petronas Gas fell 10 sen to RM17.90. Petronas Dagangan two sen lower to RM24.32 and Petronas Chemicals shed one sen to RM7.29.
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