KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare weighed on the FBM KLCI on Wednesday amid some fund selling while AirAsia was in focus ahead of the release of its results.
The KLCI was in the red most of the day in an otherwise lacklustre trading session as the pullback in crude oil prices could not provide the buying impetus for oil and gas stocks.
At 5pm, the KLCI shed 1.01 points or 0.06% to 1,682.06. Turnover was 1.94 billion shares valued at RM1.77bil. Decliners beat advancers two to one or 519 losers to 253 gainers while 428 counters were unchanged.
The ringgit weakened against the US dollar to 4.0400 from 4.0325 and slipped against the pound sterling to 5.3324 from 5.3106. It rose against the Singapore dollar to 2.9825 from 2.9838 and advanced to 4.5552 against the Euro from 4.5640.
Tenaga fell eight sen to RM14.74 and erased 0.74 of a point from the KLCI. IHH lost six sen to RM6.62 and wiped out 0.81 of a point.
However, Genting Bhd
managed to support the KLCI, climbing 14 sen to RM8.20 and added 0.87 of a point to the KLCI while Genting Malaysia was flat at RM4.28.
AirAsia fell 18 sen to RM3.04 in active trade while its affiliate AAX lost 4.5 sen to 41.5 sen, AAX-WA lost 3.5 sen to 25 sen while its call warrants, AAX-CU lost three sen to nine sen and CW was down four sen to 9.5 sen.
Affin Hwang Capital Research has downgraded long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X from Buy to Hold after the share price rally recently.
Consumer stocks were among the top losers, with Dutch Lady falling the most, down RM1.82 to RM57.70, Carlsberg lost 28 sen to RM14.70 and Henieken 22 sen lower at RM18.40. Ajinomoto rose 16 sen to RM14.20.
Poultry company Lay Hong was down 20 sen to RM9.80, retracing from the recent rally. Over the past 12 months, it has surged from RM3.50 in August 2015.
Oriental Holdings, which had run up recently on expectations of a rerating and its strong cash pile, shed some gains, faling 22 sen to RM6.88. Its net asset per share is said to be RM20.
DKSH was the top gainer, up 58 sen to RM5.18.
US light crude oil fell 76 cents to US$47.34 and Brent lost 51 cents to US$49.45 on rising stockpile. As for oil and gas stocks, Petronas Gas rose 10 sen to RM22.16, Petronas Chemicals added two sen to RM6.68 while Petronas Dagangan added six sen to RM23.40.
Crude palm oil for third-month delivery rose RM30 to RM2,608 per tonne. Sime Darby eked out a one sen gain to RM7.81 after the heavy selling the previous day on concerns about the EPS dilution and share overhand from its proposed placement.
IOI Corp lost one sen to RM4.42, KL Kepong rose two sen to RM23.52 and PPB Group was flat RM16.06.
As for banks, AmBank rose two sen to RM4.37 while CIMB, Maybank and RHB Bank shed one sen each to RM4.68, RM7.99 and RM4.99 respectively while Public Bank lost four sen to RM19.76.
Among the key regional markets,
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.61% to 16,597.30;
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.77% to 22,820.78;
CSI 300 fell 0.36% to 3,329.86;
Shanghai’s Composite Index lost 0.12% to 3,085.88;
Shenzhen Composite shed 0.12% to 3,085.88;
Hang Seng China Enterprise lost 0.83% to 9,507.09;
Taiwan’s Taiex ended down 0.15% to 9,017.38;
South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.3% to 2,043.76 and
Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.67% to 2,869.57.
Spot gold inched up nine cents to US$1,337.65 per troy ounce.
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