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The FBM KLCI index lost 5.05 points or 0.28% on Friday. The Finance Index fell 0.13% to 16080.56 points, the Properties Index up 0.41% to 1310.97 points and the Plantation Index down 0.03% to 7784.12 points. The market traded within a range of 5.01 points between an intra-day high of 1818.31 and a low of 1813.30 during the session.
Actively traded stocks include INGENCO, ETITECH, PERISAI, ESCERAM, PRIVA, KNM, DGB, PLABS, TIGER and CAP. Trading volume decreased to 1644.66 mil shares worth RM1820.37 mil as compared to Thursday’s 2442.91 mil shares worth RM1955.08 mil.
Leading Movers were GENM (+7 sen to RM4.19), KLK (+34 sen to RM22.86), PETCHEM (+5 sen to RM5.48), GENTING (+8 sen to RM8.83) and PETDAG (+12 sen to RM19.72). Lagging Movers were ASTRO (-8 sen to RM3.10), BAT (-134 sen to RM68.04), TENAGA (-26 sen to RM14.20), DIGI (-10 sen to RM6.19) and UMW (-16 sen to RM10.72). Market breadth was negative with 354 gainers as compared to 391 losers.
The KLCI ended by 5.05 points lower at 1813.17 on the last trading day of the week, amid weaker sentiment due to rising of tension in the Middle East. The performance of our benchmark index was dragged down by selling in heavyweight counters such as Astro, BAT and Tenaga.
MALAYSIAN shares ended lower on Friday with the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index slipping 5.05 points to close at 1,813.37.
Some 1.64 billion lots, valued at RM1.82 billion were traded. Gainers numbered 354 while losers numbered 391.
INTERNATIONAL COMMODITY NEWS :
Crude oil prices rebounded in Asia on Thursday with events in Yemen offering fresh support as Saudi Arabia and allies bomb Houthi rebel positions and President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi hangs onto power. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for May delivery rose 0.99% to $49.70 a barrel. Crude oil futures surged on Wednesday, amid increasing geopolitical risks related to the advance of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Global oil prices spiked by more than a dollar on Wednesday afternoon, as reports surfaced that Saudi Arabia is moving heavy military equipment, including artillery to its border with Yemen. The buildup came in response to the seizure of the al-Anad base, a Yemen airbase that had previously been used by U.S. troops in their fight against Al-Qaeda.
TRADING STRATEGY :
BUY GOLD ABOVE 1201 TARGET 1206 1212 SL 1195
SELL GOLD BELOW 1194 TARGET 1189 1183 SL 1200
MARKET UPDATES :
The FBM KLCI index lost 0.68 points or 0.04% on Thursday. The Finance Index increased 0.12% to 16100.75 points, the Properties Index up 0.23% to 1305.57 points and the Plantation Index down 0.27% to 7786.49 points. The market traded within a range of 5.11 points between an intra-day high of 1820.52 and a low of 1815.41 during the session.
STOCK RECOMMENDATION :
BUY KNM GROUP AT 0.700 – 0.705 TARGET 0.750 0.850 SL 0.600
KUALA LUMPUR: #Bluechips ended Friday morning slightly lower in lacklustre trade after the #crudeoil prices retreated and the ringgit weakened against the US dollar while investors decided to stay mostly on the sidelines.
At 12.30pm, the #KLCI was marginally lower by 0.96 of a point or 0.05% to 1,817.46. Turnover was 824.61 million shares valued at RM679.55mil. There were 267 gainers, 330 losers and 352 counters unchanged.
Reuters reported Asian stocks were mixed as rising tensions in the Middle East obscured the investment outlook, while the dollar rebounded.
Oil prices fell over a percentage point on Friday as traders estimated that the threat of a disruption to world crude supplies from Saudi Arabia-led air strikes in Yemen was low.
Goldman Sachs said in an overnight note that the strikes in Yemen would have little effect on oil supplies as the country was only a small crude exporter and tankers could avoid passing its waters to reach their ports of destination.
Internationally traded Brent crude futures were trading at $58.44 a barrel at 0211 GMT, down 75 cents from their last settlement. U.S. crude was down 88 cents at $50.55 a barrel.
Blue chips got off to a weak start on Friday after the lacklustre overnight close on Wall Street, with Petronas Dagangan and UMW weighing on the FBM KLCI.
At 9.21am, the KLCI was down 3.14 points or 0.17% to 1,815.28. Turnover was 243.71 million shares valued at RM107.94mil. There were 170 gainers, 108 losers and 198 counters unchanged.
JF Apex Research said following the lacklustre performance in the US, we expect the KLCI to remain sideways below the resistance of 1,830.
Meanwhile, foreign funds were net sellers until March 26 at about RM800mil but this was a vast improvement from the RM1.9bil net outflow in the first half of the month, says BIMB Securities Research.
BAT was the top loser, down RM1.18 to RM68.20 while PetDag was down 10 sen to RM19.50 while down eight sen each were UMW and RHB Cap to RM10.80 and RM7.91.
Asian stocks crawled higher on Friday as upbeat U.S. economic data helped revive some risk appetite lost following air strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen, while the dollar rebounded.
Crude oil prices were slightly lower on the dollar's bounce after surging overnight on the escalating conflict in Yemen.
The euro was flat at $1.0883, knocked off an overnight high of $1.1052 after the encouraging U.S. data boosted the dollar.
The dollar stood was at 119.17 yen after pulling back from a five-week trough of 118.33 struck overnight against the yen, a safe-haven currency that attracts bids in times of geopolitical tension.
U.S. crude was down 1 percent at $50.87 a barrel after rallying 4.5 percent overnight.
After failed attempts at a rebound, U.S. stocks ended Thursday’s choppy session lower, declining for the fourth consecutive session.
The S&P 500 SPX, -0.24% ended 4.90 points, or 0.2% lower at 2,056.15 with eight of its 10 sectors closing in the red. Technology stocks which took a beating on Wednesday rebounded, but modest gains weren't enough to lift the markets.
The dollar lost ground against the yen Thursday, but traded higher against the euro after falling for most of the past week.
The dollar USDJPY, +0.02% was down at ¥119.20 from ¥119.50 late Tuesday.
The euro EURUSD, +0.02% bought $1.0875, down from $1.0971 late Wednesday in New York, after gaining ground earlier Thursday against the dollar.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.01% which gauges the dollar’s strength against six other currencies, was flat at 97.4040.
April natural gas NGJ15, -0.64% turned lower to trade at $2.666 per million British thermal units, down 5.7 cents, or 2.1%. The EIA reported Thursday an increase of 12 billion cubic feet in last week’s natural-gas supplies. Analysts polled by Platts forecast a rise of 12 to 16 billion cubic feet.
May silver SIK5, -0.53% added 14 cents, or 0.8%, to end at $17.14 an ounce.
April gasoline RBJ5, -1.39% traded at $1.862 a gallon, up 2.6 cents, or 1.4%, while April heating oil added 4.1 cents, or 2.4%, to $1.769 a gallon.
May copper HGK5, -1.09% rose 1.9 cents, or 0.1%, to $2.811 a pound.
April platinum PLJ5, -0.26% tacked on $7.50, or 0.7%, to $1,154 an ounce.
June palladium PAM5, -0.72% rose $7.95, or 1%, to $773.35 an ounce.
Oil futures jumped past $50 a barrel on Thursday, headed for their fifth straight daily gain as Saudi Arabian airstrikes in Yemen raised fresh concerns over potential disruptions to crude supplies.
May crude CLK5, -2.00% climbed 98 cents, or 2%, to $50.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It hit an intraday high of $52.48 a barrel, according to FactSet data.
May Brent crude LCOK5, -1.61% on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $1.70, or 3%, to $58.18 a barrel.
Gold futures rallied past $1,200 an ounce on Thursday to settle at their highest level since early March as investors backed away from riskier assets amid a selloff for global equities and increased tension in the Middle East.
Gold for April delivery GCJ5, -0.26% climbed $7.80, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,204.80 an ounce on Comex. Prices have now climbed for seven sessions in a row, tallying a total gain of 4.9% during their streak of gains.
Here are the latest trading levels for Asia's major stock markets:
Tokyo (Nikkei Average NIK, +0.46% ) up 0.4%
Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.00% ) down 0.1%
Shanghai (Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, +0.30% ) down 0.3%
Sydney (S&P/ASX 200 XJO, +0.56% ) up 0.5%
Seoul (Kospi SEU, -0.09% ) up 0.1%
Taipei (Taiex Y9999, -0.85% ) down 0.4%
MALAYSIA share prices opened lower on Friday with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index down 4.37 points to 1814.05 as at 9.30am.
Volume was about 164 million lots worth RM72 million.
Losers outnumbered gainers 134 to 81.
MALAYSIAN shares ended lower on Thursday with the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index slipping 0.68 points to close at 1,818.42.
Some 2.44 billion lots, valued at RM1.95 billion were traded. Gainers numbered 426 while losers numbered 397.
MARKET UPDATES :
The FBM KLCI index gained 5.06 points or 0.28% on Wednesday. The Finance Index increased 0.48% to 16080.99 points, the Properties Index dropped 0.76% to 1302.55 points and the Plantation Index rose 0.16% to 7807.83 points. The market traded within a range of 11.01 points between an intra-day high of 1823.19 and a low of 1812.18 during the session.
STOCK RECOMMENDATION :
BUY FOCUS LUMBER AT 1.500 – 1.505 TARGET 1.550 1.650 SL 1.450
Public Bank, Eco World Development, Managepay Systems, Poh Kong and Tanjung Offshore could see trading interest on Thursday amid tough market conditions after the overnight plunge on Wall Street, says JF Apex Research.
It said US markets plunged after February durable goods order dropped, indicating weak global demand and stronger US dollar. Similarly, European stocks fell sharply despite better-than-expected business sentiment data in Germany.
At Bursa Malaysia, the FBM KLCI closed up 5.06 points to 1,819.10 to extend its winning streak.
