Written by Surin Murugiah of theedgemalaysia.com
Fri Sep 21 2012 05:04:58 PM
KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 21): The FBM KLCI ended the week on a lower note after reversing its earlier gains and closing in the red, trailing its regional peers as domestic uncertainties including the still undecided general election date and Budget 2013 concerns kept investors on the sidelines.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI fell 1.89 points to 1,623.70. Week-on-week, the index was up 3.15 points — but for the month of September, the index dropped 22.41 points.
There were 337 gainers and 350 losers, while 366 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.08 billion shares valued at RM1.91 billion.
Asian shares, oil and gold rose on Friday while safe-haven currencies the dollar and yen withered, as investors were comforted by recent central bank steps to support the global economy in the face of weak data, according to Reuters.
A 0.3% rise in US stock futures suggested a firm Wall Street start and financial spreadbetters expected London’s FTSE 100, Paris’s CAC-40 and Frankfurt’s DAX to open about 0.5% higher, it said.
Meanwhile, European shares and the euro clawed themselves back up on Friday and oil also rebounded from a 1½ month low, as investors moved back into markets still feeling the benefits of support measures from central banks, said Reuters.
At the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.70% to 20,734.94; Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 0.25% to 9,110.00; South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.60% to 2,002.37; Taiwan’s Taiex up 0.35% to 7,754.69; the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.09% to 2,026.69; and Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.51% to 3,078.23.
Among the losers on Bursa Malaysia, United Plantations fell RM1.36 to RM25.12; BAT was down RM1 to RM61.20; Nestlé dropped 90 sen to RM61; F&N shrunk 58 sen to RM18.40; Shell deducted 50 sen to RM8.50; Batu Kawan decreased 38 sen to RM18.40; Carlsberg retreated 24 sen to RM11.66; Tan Chong, PPB and GAB lost 16 sen each to RM4.44, RM12 and RM15.64 respectively.
Newly-listed IGB REIT was the most actively-traded counter, with 236.16 million shares done. The counter gained 14 sen to RM1.39. Other actives included Asia EP, Ingenuity Solutions, HWGB, I-Power, YTL Corp, Telekom, Scomi and Maybank. The gainers included Tasek, Panasonic, UMW, Dutch Lady, Hing Yap, Tahps, Bursa and Subur Tiasa.