KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed mixed on Friday with fund buying of Nestle, YTL and Genting Bhd
propping up the FBM KLCI while oil and gas services company Sapura Energy closed at a record low.
At 5pm, the KLCI was up 4.3 points or 0.23% to 1,843.92. Turnover was 2.25 billion shares valued at RM2.01bil. There were 491 gainers, 459 losers and 391 counters unchanged.
The ringgit fell against the US dollar, down 0.08% to 3.9115 but firmed up against the pound sterling by 0.39% to 5.4056, gained 0.56% to the euro at 4.8157 and edged up 0.09% to the Singapore dollar at 2.9679.
Hong Kong stocks gained on Friday, as optimism over the new entente between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump offset concerns about China's slower economic growth and the impact of US tariffs, Reuters reported.
The Hang Seng index rose 1.1% while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.8%. All other key Asian markets also closed higher.
At Bursa Malaysia, Nestle again hit record highs, climbing RM5 to RM145 and pushing the KLCI up 2.1 points. Dutch Lady added 30 sen to RM68 while BAT fell the most, down 76 sen to RM26.70, to a fresh record low.
YTL Corp rose seven sen to RM1.41 – and helped to push the KLCI up 1.37 points, Genting Bhd added 14 sen to RM8.99 and nudged the index up nearly one point. Genting Malaysia added two sen to RM5.17 but power giant Tenaga fell six sen to RM15.54 and erased 0.61 of a point.
Nova Pharma Solutions, which made its debut on the LEAP Market, closed up 2.5 sen to 22.5 sen. It opened at 24 sen.
As for telcos, Maxis, Digi and Telekom rose three sen each to RM5.92, RM4.75 and RM5.66 respectively while Axiata was flat at RM5.43.
Among the banks, AmBank rose six sen to RM4.03, CIMB added two sen to RM7.15, Public Bank was flat at RM23, Hong Leong Bank lost six sen to RM18.50, RHB Bank four sen to RM5.27, Maybank two sen lower at RM10.44 while HLFG lost 28 sen to RM18.58.
Crude oil rebounded with US light crude oil up 27 cents to US$60.39 and Brent gained 39 cents to US$64.
Sapura Engery fell to a record low of 46.5 sen, down 4.5 sen with 134 million shares done. Affin Hwang Capital Research maintained its sell call on Sapura Energy Bhd with a lower target price of 40 sen from 73 sen previously based on 0.6 times FY19E net tangible assets.
The downside risks to the counter remain from potential impairment, negative earnings surprises, uncertainty over orderbook replenishment, weak cashfows and the potential listing of its exploration and production (E&P) division, it said.
LC Titan rose 31 sen to RM6.10 while Petronas Chemicals added two sen to RM7.98. Petronas Gas was flat at RM17.40 and Petronas Dagangan added 20 sen to RM24.30.
QES, which was listed on the ACE Market on Thursday rose 0.5 sen to 22.5 sen. Its offer price was 19 sen.
Crude palm oil for third month delivery fell RM38 to RM2,372 – the lowest since July 2016. Chin Tek fell 28 sen to RM7.50, Batu Kawan 16 sen to RM18.24 and United Plantations 12 sen to RM28.10.
Among the KLCI plantation stocks, IOI Corp edged up one sen to RM4.84, KL Kepong four sen to RM25.40, and PPB Group 10 sen to RM18.10.
Sime Plantation fell one sen to RM5.45, Sime Darby was flat at RM2.59 and Sime Property was up three sen to RM1.37.
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