KUALA LUMPUR: Last-minute buying of key stocks shored up the FBM KLCI and enabled it to end Friday slightly higher but trading volume and value shrank amid a broader cautious market.
At 5pm, the KLCI was up 0.26 point or 0.02% to 1,695.88 after remaining it the red most of the day. Turnover was lacklustre at 1.58 billion shares while trading value shrunk to just RM1.10bil.
On the external front, most key Asian markets were in the red except for Singapore. China's markets led regional declines, with the technology sector weak on concern the U.S. is ratcheting up a campaign against Huawei Technologies Co, Bloomberg reported. Japan was closed.
Maybank rose three sen to RM9.42 and added 0.59 of a point to the KLCI, Hong Leong Bank added 10 sen to RM20.68, RHB Babnk four sen to RM5.20, Public Bank was flat at RM24.80 but HLFG lost six sen to RM19.20, CIMB shed two sen to RM5.63.
Crude palm oil for third month delivery fell RM9 to RM2,048 per tonne. IOI Corp rose four sen to RM4.31 while PPB Group and KL Kepong added two sen each to RM17.04 and RM24.90 and Sime Plantation was flat at RM5.18.
Telcos fell with Maxis down five sen to RM5.31 and erasing 0.7 of a point from the KLCI, Digi shed three sen to RM4.21 while Axiata and Telekom lost two sen each to RM3.41 and RM2.33.
US light crude oil tumbled US$1.23 to US$53.40 and Brent fell 60 cents to US$62.
Petronas Chemical fell two sen to RM9.22, Petronas Gas added four sen to RM18.82 and Petrona Dagangan six sen higher at RM26.94 while Dialog climbed four sem to RM3.20.
Tenaga gained two sen to RM14.80, Sime Darby one sen to RM2.47 while Genting Bhd
and Genting Malaysia were unchanged at RM6.89 and RM3.59.
Bumi Armada shed one sen to 32 sen, the lowest in recent years after reporting net losses of RM502.82mil in the third quarter ende Sept 30, 2018 due to non-cash impairments totaling RM563.5mil. It would have made a net profit of RM75.2mil if not for the non-cash impairments of RM41.4mil.
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