KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips ended a volatile Friday just a shade higher, thanks to fund buying of telcos and CIMB, but the broader market was cautious as US raised the stakes in its trade war with China.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI was up 0.88 of a point or 0.05% to 1,837.01. Turnover was 3.03 billion shares valued at RM2.34bil. There were 383 gainers, 589 losers and 364 counters unchanged.
China warned on Friday it would fight back "at any cost" with fresh trade measures if the United States continues on its path of protectionism, hours after President Donald Trump threatened to slap an additional US$100bil in tariffs on Chinese goods, Reuters reported.
Hong Kong shares rose, catching up to global market gains in the previous session, but the threat of fresh US tariffs against China capped gains and prompted investors to switch to sectors seen as less exposed to the worsening trade dispute.
The benchmark blue chip Hang Seng index ended up 1.1%, or 326.25 points, at 29,844.94, with the China's H-shares index closing up 0.9% at 11,967.66.
The ringgit edged down 0.14% to 3.8718 but rose 0.11% to the pound sterling at 5.4228 and advanced 0.1% to the euro at 4.7373. It climbed 0.16% against the Singapore dollar to 2.9363.
At Bursa Malaysia, Maxis rose 17 sen to RM5.70 and pushed the KLCI up 2.39 points, Telekom added 25 sen to RM5.38 and nudged the index ip 1.69 points while Digi gained 11 sen to RM4.49 and lifted the KLCI by 1.54 points. Axiata was up one sen to RM5.26.
CIMB rose five sen to RM7.06, Maybank and Public Bank were flat at RM10.48 and RM23.94 while HLFG lost four sen to RM18.96. HL Bank 10 sen lower and AmBank 12 sen down to RM3.69 while RHB Bank fell the most, down 14 sen to RM5.10.
US light crud eoil fell 19 cents to US$63.35 and Brent dropped 18 cents to US$68.15.
Petronas Chemical rose four sen to RM8.20, Petronas Dagangan six sen to RM25.56 and Petonas Gas unchanged at RM17.98. Hengyuan jumped RM1.48 to RM8.35 and Petron 71 sen to RM8.42.
As for the heavyweight, Tenaga lost eight sen to RM15.74, Genting Bhd
11 sen lower at RM8.73 and Genting Malaysia one sen lower at RM4.88. IHH rose two sen to RM6.05 and MISC four sen to RM7.08.
Among the consumer stocks, Dutch Lady was the top loser, down RM1.02 to RM65.94, BAT 46 sen lower at RM23.74 and F&N lost 20 sen to RM32.60.
Press Metal fell 33 sen to RM3.85 on worries about the US tariffs on steel and aluminum products though global aluminum prices had perked up a bit after hitting two-year lows.
MPI and KESM lost 22 sen each to RM8.08 and RM14.90. However, JHM rose 13 sen to 97 sen. VS Industry, which was hammered recently due to the tech selloff, rose seven sen to RM2.20.
Crude palm oil (CPO) for third month delivery rose RM33 to RM2,505 per tonne.
Malaysia will extend suspension on tax on palm oil exports to reduce stockpile and maintain price of commodity, according to the Ministry of Plantation Industries and commodities. Tax exemption will be stopped earlier if stock level reaches 1.6 million tons, Bloomberg reported.
KL Kepong rose six sen to RM25.56, PPB Group fell two sen to RM18.76 and IOI Corp one sen lower at RM4.70.
Sime Plantation and Sime Darby were flat at RM5.50 and RM2.60 while Sime Property was fell two sen to RM1.39.
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