KLCI slips early Wednesday after weaker Wall Street

KUALA LUMPUR: Investors remained cautious early Wednesday after the weaker overnight close on Wall Street and decided to take some money off the table as they await the barrage of corporate results for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2017 which enters full swing from now.

At 9.41am, the KLCI was down 1.29 points or 0.07% to 1,854.70. Turnover was 307.97 million shares valued at RM184.41mil. There were 201 gainers, 235 losers and 250 counters unchanged.

Kenanga Investment Bank Research said the overall technical outlook is negative as momentum indicators are still weak and the global market remains volatile.

“Investors should wait for a breakout from the 1,883 (R1) resistance level that will see the next resistance level placed at 1,910 (R2). Failure to break out from R1 will see support levels at 1,798 (S1) and 1771 (S2),” it said.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.15%. Japan's Nikkei shed 0.2%. Australian stocks were down 0.05% and South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.4%, Reuters  reported.

The US dollar steadied against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, having pulled up from three-year lows set last week as traders shaved off some of the bearish bets against the US currency, Reuters reported.

The dollar index last stood at 89.686, up 1.6% from Friday's three-year low of 88.251.

The weaker crude palm oil prices weighed on PPB Group which fell 36 sen to RM17.30 but with 200 shares done.

Hong Leong Bank lost 26 sen to RM18.24  with 100 shares done while Bursa Malaysia lost six sen to RM10.74.

Glove makers slipped with Kossan down 11 sen to RM8.57 and Hartalega six sen to RM11.76.

Lafarge lost six sen to RM5.19 on concerns about weaker earnings.

Nestle’s jump in earnings and dividend saw the share price climb RM1.10 to RM122.60. Nestle posted a record high 4QFY17 net profit of RM133.54mil, doubling from the RM66.94mil reported last year, thanks to continued sustainable cost management.

BAT added 16 sen to RM30.06 but F&N lost 10 sen to RM29.90.

UEM Edgenta surged 29 sen to RM2.63 after it declared a single-tier special dividend of 18 sen per share and a single-tier second interim dividend of five sen per share in respect of its financial year ended Dec 31, 2017 (FY17).