KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI closed in the red on Friday on sustained foreign selling despite some late buying support, mirroring the weaker key regional markets, despite the mild rebound in crude oil prices.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI had fallen 1.43 points or 0.08% to 1,743.57. Turnover was 1.786 billion shares valued at RM1.88bil. Decliners beat advancers 426 to 366 while 296 counters were unchanged.
All the key markets except China were in the red as losses on Wall Street spread to Asia.
European shares fell on Friday, led by a fresh slide in Swiss stocks, as investors digested the impact of a leap in the franc after the shock lifting of a central-bank currency cap on the previous day, Reuters reported.
The ringgit dipped slightly to 3.5588 against the US dollar at 5pm, from 3.5587 the previous day.
US crude oil rose 53 cents to RM46.78 and Brent added 47 cents to US$48.74 as the IEA said the tide of recent price slumps may turn, although analysts said a strong rebound anytime soon was unlikely as global output continues to outweigh demand.
Petronas Gas fell 30 sen to RM21.40 and wiped out 1.04 points from the KLCI. Petronas Chemicals lost seven sen to RM5.05 and Petronas Dagangan four sen lower at RM16.36. However, SapuraKencana rose six sen to RM2.50 as the company made heavyway to return to the Securities Commission’s Shariah compliant list.
Genting fell nine sen to RM8.30, MISC 13 sen lower at RM7.57 while UMW gained four sen to RM10.58.
Crude palm oil for third-month delivery fell RM21 to RM2,323. IJM Plantations lost nine sen to RM3.45, Sime Darby three sen to RM9.31, and KL Kepong two sen to RM22 but PPB Group gained 28 sen to RM14.30.
Among the banks, Public Bank gained four sen RM17.56 but CIMB shed six sen to RM5.05.
MRCB added eight sen to RM1.33 in active trade.
Among the key regional markets,
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.43% to 16,864.16;
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.02% to 24,103.52;
Shanghai’s Composite Index rose 1.2% to 3,376.50;
Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.29% to 9,138.29;
South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.36% to 1,888.13;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 1.14% to 3,300.68.
Spot gold fell US$4.86 to US$1,257.89.
