Market Close KLCI, Asian markets fall on Ukraine, Middle East conflicts

by **Cals** Thu 07 Aug 2014, 01:05

Market Close KLCI, Asian markets fall on Ukraine, Middle East conflicts

Business & Markets 2014

Written by Chong Jin Hun of theedgemalaysia.com

Wednesday, 06 August 2014 17:13

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 6): The FBM KLCI fell 6.77 points or 0.4%, tracking Asian market losses as global political uncertainties hurt investor sentiment.

At 5pm, the KLCI settled at 1,869.92 as stocks like PPB Group Bhd and Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd fell.

M&A Securities Sdn Bhd Research Head Rosnani Rasul said geo-political conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East had dampened market sentiment today.

"Investors are also anticipating China's external trade numbers this Friday (August 8)," Rosnani told theedgemalaysia.com over telephone.

Today, Bursa Malaysia saw 2.77 billion shares worth RM2.1 billion changed hands. There were 346 gainers versus 493 decliners.

The top gainer was Lafarge Malaysia Bhd while leading decliners included Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd and PPB. The most-active stock was Malaysian Airline System Bhd.

The Malaysian stock market posted losses as investors digested crucial domestic economic data, and corporate earnings today.

Malaysia's June exports expanded 7.9% year-on-year to RM61.23 billion while imports increased 9.2% to RM57.26 billion, according to the Statistics Department.

June export and import growth figures came in lower than consensus’ estimates of a 13.9% and 12.5% expansion respectively, based on a Reuters' survey.

MISC Bhd said net profit fell 4% to RM244.08 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2014 from RM300.95 million a year earlier. Revenue, however, rose to RM2.54 billion from RM2.28 billion.

Cumulative first-half net profit climbed to RM774.48 million from RM601.37 million a year earlier. Revenue was higher at RM4.83 billion compared to RM4.66 billion.

Elsewhere in Asia, stock markets fell with Japan's Nikkei down 1.05%, South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.27%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 0.26% lower.

Reuters reported that Asian stocks fell broadly on Wednesday while the U.S. dollar held firm after a slump on Wall Street and tensions over Ukraine smothered markets with a mood of risk aversion.

Geopolitical concerns overshadowed upbeat U.S. economic data which included a spike in service-sector activity to a nine-year peak and a surprisingly large increase in factory orders.