KUALA LUMPUR: Banks and Maxis led the FBM KLCI to a higher close on Friday but there was not enough buying support to enable it to cross the 1,700 level with the broader market turning cautious.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI was up 4.29 points or 0.25% to 1,692.49. Turnover was 1.78 billion shares valued at RM2.16bil. Decliners led advancers 463 to 334 while 381 counters were unchanged.
Weighing down the KLCI’s advance was the weaker trade data for January with surprised analysts. Most key Asian markets closed higher except for South Korea.
Crude oil prices also trended lower on uncertainties prices may have bottomed out after official US data showed oil production fell to its lowest level since November 2014.
The ringgit firmed up against the US dollar and pound sterling. It was at 4.1122 to the greenback from the previous close of 4.1345 while it was quoted at 5.8130 to the pound from 5.8154. It dipped against the Singapore dollar to 2.9794 from 2.9678.
Public Bank rose 14 sen to RM18.80. CIMB gained 13 sen to RM4.63 and pushed the KLIC up 1.89 points, AmBank added 11 sen to RM4.53, RHB Cap 10 sen to RM5.66, Hong Leong Bank four sen to RM13.22 and Maybank one sen to RM8.75.
US light crude oil fell eight cents to US$34.49 and Brent 17 cents lower at US$36.90. Petronas Chemicals added six sen to RM6.98, Petronas Gas fell eight sen to RM22.32 and Petronas Dagangan 34 sen to RM24.44. SK Petro inched up one sen to RM2.09. Petron lost 13 sen to RM5.25.
Crude palm oil for third-month delivery rose RM11 to RM2,512 per tonne. PPB Group rose eight sen to RM16.40 but Sime and IOI Corp lost one sen each to RM7.89 and RM4.76 and KL Kepong 28 sen to RM23.72.
AirAsia continued its fifth straight day of gains, up five sen to RM1.73 on its turnaround story. AirAsia X
warrants rose three sen to 15 sen and the shares 1.5 sen to 30 sen.
Comfort Gloves were off the day’s low, down 5.5 sen to 81.5 sen in active trade after a fire razed part of its plant in Taiping
Maxis rose 11 sen to RM6.37 and pushed the KLCI up 1.41 points. Telekom lost three sen to RM6.60, DiGi four sen lower at RM5.02 and Axiata was flat at RM6.
Among the key regional markets,
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.32% to 17,014.78;
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.18% to 20,176.70;
CSI 300 gained 1.16% to 3,093.89;
Shanghai’s Composite Index added 0.5% to 2,874.15;
Shenzhen Composite fell 2.91% to 1,706.97;
Hang Seng China Enterprise gained 1.99% to 8,557.69;
Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.37% to 8,643.55;
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.13% to 1,955.63 and
Singapore’s Straits Times Index jumped 1.61% to 2,832.54.
Spot gold added US$10.02 to US$1,274.27 per ounce.
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