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Oil futures settled lower on Friday for the first time in six sessions but still gained about 5% for the week, with strength fueled in part by an escalating conflict in Yemen.
West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in May CLK5, -5.83% settled at $48.87 a barrel, down $2.56, or 5% on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with the front-month contract ending about 4.9% higher for the week following a 4.5% jump on Thursday.
May Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange LCOK5, -5.19% fell $2.78, or 4.7%, to $56.41 a barrel, leaving it with a weekly gain of around 2%.
Gold futures settled with a loss on Friday, putting an end to a seven-session stretch of gains that had lifted prices to their highest level in more than three weeks.
Gold for April delivery GCJ5, -0.54% shed $5, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,199.80 an ounce Friday on Comex. During their seven-session climb, gold futures tallied a total gain of 4.9%. For the week, prices gained 1.3%.
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
