KLCI approaches historical high amid commodities rally

KUALA LUMPUR: The local bourse continued its uptrend along with most other Asian markets as a rally in commodities prices helped lift sentiment in the region.

The FBM KLCI rose to as high as 1,890.54 in mid-morning trade and closed the early session 8.9 points higher at 1,888.22, just four points off its historical high. 

Turnover was 1.39 billion shares with a value of RM1.06bil. There were 411 advancers to 323 decliners and 360 counters unchanged.

Press Metal Aluminium has been on investors' radar screens of late with a rally in aluminium prices following US sanctions on Russia's Rusal, a major producer. 

The stock rose 15 sen to RM5.18 in the morning session. This comes despite concerns by AmInvestment Research that the company also faces supply disruptions to alumina following Rio Tinto invoking force majeure on certain contracts.

"Press Metal is likely to be forced to reduce its annual production amid the global alumina supply shortage," it said in its Thursday report that cut its earnings forecast on the counter.

On the KLCI, leading gainers included MISC, rising 17 sen to RM7.16, Petronas Chemicals, gaining eight sen to RM8.53, and Maxis, rising five sen to RM5.87.

Petronas Dagangan put on RM1.12 to RM27.98 and Petronas Gas added four sen to RM18.56.

Declining stocks included Tenaga Nasional, dipping two sen to RM15.90, HOng Leong Bank slipping two sen to RM19.24 and Genting, sliding three sen to RM9.04.

On the broader market, Allianz Bank surged 58 sen to RM11.22, F&N gained RM1.18 to RM34.18 and BAT gained RM1.04 to RM23.78.

On the losing end, AirAsia slipped eight sen to RM3.81, United Malacca Plantations lost seven sen to RM6.18 and Hong Leong Industries slid 10 sen to RM10.90.

Oil prices took a leap on Thursday as Saudi Arabia signaled that it would be willing to extend supply cuts following the expiry of the agreement later this year. WTI crude rose 36 sen to US$68.83 a barrel while Brent crude gained 42 cents to US$73.90 a barrel.

In currencies, the ringgit moved slightly higher against the greenback to 3.8880. It also strengthened slightly against the pound sterling at 5.5204 but weakened 0.14% against the Singapore dollar at 2.9698.