Market Close KLCI edges up on last minute gains

by **Cals** Tue 12 Aug 2014, 23:01

Market Close KLCI edges up on last minute gains

Business & Markets 2014

Written by Ahmad Naqib Idris Adzman Shah of theedgemalaysia.com

Tuesday, 12 August 2014 17:31

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 12): The FBM KLCI ended slightly higher on last minute gains, after struggling to stay afloat throughout the day.

The benchmark index gained a meagre 1.07 points or 0.06% to close at 1,850.39. The last minute push in the index came on gains in stocks such as Petronas Gas Bhd.

Sam Ng, remisier for InterPac Securities, said that while the blue chip stocks have been somewhat stagnant today, more interest was seen in small-to-medium capitalisation stocks.

“I noticed more activity in small- and medium-cap stocks today, even though there is a lack of interest in the index-linked stocks.

“Stocks like Sumatec Resources Bhd and PDZ Holdings Bhd are reaching new highs,” Ng toldtheedgemalaysia.com.

He added that Guocoland (Malaysia) Bhd and Land & General Bhd were also faring well.

Across the board, a total of 3.01 billion shares worth RM2.21 billion were exchanged. Market breadth was negative, with 452 decliners against 381 gainers, while 323 counters were unchanged.

Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd led the decliners, falling 18 sen to RM17.10. Meanwhile, the gainers were led by Press Metal Bhd’s warrants, PMETAL-LA, which rose 39 sen to RM6.00.

Malaysian Airline System Bhd was the most actively traded stock, with some 320.6 million shares traded.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.20%, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.10%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng increased 0.18%.

According to Reuters, Asian shares nudged higher on Tuesday, tracking rallies in the United States and Europe as investors seemed to put aside geopolitical concerns, at least for the moment.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.4% after jumping 1.5% yesterday.