KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips closed higher for the second day on Wednesday, underpinned by gains in Genting Malaysia Bhd
, Genting Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Bhd as investor optimisim rode on the rebound in crude oil prices
At 5pm, the KLCI rose 2.95 points or 0.18% to 1,658.73. Turnover was 1.71 billion shares valued at RM1.88bil. There were 460 gainers, 329 losers and 382 counters unchanged.
Most Southeast Asian stock markets recovered from losses earlier in the day to end higher, echoing a surge in wider Asian stocks after the Bank of Japan said it would overhaul monetary policy and steepen the yield curve, Reuters reported. Only Singapore was in the red.
The ringgit weakened against the US dollar to 4.1410 from 4.1390 but firmed up against the pound sterling to 5.3611 from 5.3908, advanced against the Singapore dollar to 3.0362 from 3.0406 while it was stronger against the Euro at 4.6070 from 4.6351.
Genting Malaysia rose 19 sen to RM4.70 and nudged the KLCI up 1.87 points while Genting Bhd added 15 sen to RM8.05 and nudged the index up 0.93 of a point.
Moody's Investors Service affirmed the Baa1 issuer rating of Genting Bhd while the outlook on the rating is stable.
"The affirmation reflects Genting Bhd's healthy financial profile, backed by its stable cash flow generation and excellent consolidated liquidity position with sizable holdings of cash-on-hand as well as a well-managed debt maturity profile," says Jacintha Poh, a Moody's vice president and senior analyst.
Among the telcos, Telekom rose 12 sen to RM6.70, Digi added five sen to RM4.86 but Axiata fell nine sen to RM5.30 and Maxis two sen lower at RM6.13.
Oil prices jumped after a surprisingly large drop in US crude inventories and as an oil services workers strike in Norway threatened to cut North Sea output, the wire report said. US light crude oil rose 91 cents to US$44.96 and Brent added 83 cents to US$46.71.
Petronas Chemicals rose six sen to RM6.66 and added 0.79 of a point to the KLCI, Petronas Dagangan fell 10 sen to RM23.34 and Petronas Gas two sen lower at RM21.56. SK Petro rose two sen to RM1.55.
As for banks, RHB Bank advanced six sen to RM4.74, AmBank rose four sen to RM4.23, CIMB three sen to RM4.68, Maybank and Hong Leong Bank fell four sen each to RM7.76 and RM12.86, Public Bank shed six sen to RMRM19.50.
Crude palm oil for third-month delivery slipped RM6 to RM2,687 per tonne. PPB Group rose 26 sen to RM16.16, Genting Plantations 12 sen higher at RM10.82, Sime Darby eked out a one sen gain to RM7.75 butIOI Corp and KL Kepong lost two sen each to RM4.41 and RM23.80.
FGV 16 sen to RM2.41 while its call warrants also rose in active trade, riding on the firm CPO prices and the turnaround in its financial performance.
As for consumer stocks, Heneiken rose 14 sen to RM17.68, BAT fell RM1.30 to RM48.80, Dutch Lady lost 70 sen to RM59.60 while Ajinomoto and F&N shed 20 sen each to RM13.20 and RM24.30.
KESM fell 40 sen to RM7.60 after the decline in its fourth quarter results while chip maker MPI was down 15 sen to RM7.87. However, Globetronics added 12 sen to RM10.82.
AirAsia rebounded from Tuesday's fall to add 10 sen to RM2.80 in active trade.
Bison added 10 sen to RM1.80 after Nomura Research initiated coverage with a target price of RM2.25. Its IPO price was RM1.10 per share when it was listed on March 29.
Among the key regional markets,
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.91% to 16,807.62;
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.59% to 23,669.90;
CSI 300 added 0.28% to 3,266.64;
Shanghai’s Composite Index inched up 0.1% to 3,025.87;
Hang Seng China Enterprise gained 1% to 9,849.06;
Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.73% to 9,228.50;
South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.51% to 2,035.99; and
Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.14% to 2,850.70.
Spot gold added US$5.11 to US$1,319.95.
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