Market Close KLCI falls, ringgit weakens after China rate cut

by **Cals** Tue 03 Mar 2015, 00:38

Market Close
KLCI falls, ringgit weakens after China rate cut

By Gho Chee Yuan / theedgemarkets.com | March 2, 2015 : 5:27 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR (March 2): The FBM KLCI fell while the ringgit weakened after China's interest rate cut prompted investors to buy the US dollar.

At 5pm, the KLCI was down 4.08 points or 0.22% at 1,817.13 points on losses in stocks like
[size=14]SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard).

In currency markets,ringgit weakened to 3.6265 against the US dollar at 4.34pm. Compared to the Singapore dollar, ringgit was weaker at 2.6577.

Reuters reported that the US dollar hit an 11-year high against a basket of major currencies on Monday, with the greenback gaining a broad lift after an interest rate cut in China dented the Chinese yuan and emerging Asian currencies.

Some analysts said the greenback's strength against the Chinese yuan and emerging Asian currencies in the wake of China's rate cut helped bolster the dollar versus major currencies as well.

"China's rate cut has triggered dollar-buying against the Chinese yuan and that is helping to spur broad buying of the dollar," said Satoshi Okagawa, senior global markets analyst for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in Singapore.

Across Bursa Malaysia, some 2.24 billion shares worth RM2.19 billion changed hands.

Decliners led gainers by 617 to 313 while 260 counters remained unchanged.

The top decliners included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard), Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) and Shangri-La Hotels (M) Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard). The actively traded counters include Wintoni Group Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard), Privasia Technology Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) and Nexgram Holdings Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard).

Top gainers included Nestle (M) Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard), C.I. Holdings Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) andHong Leong Financial Group Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard).

Analysts said the Malaysian market needed to see more catalysts. "Going forward, the market is likely to remain conservative and it needed more catalysts to achieve its support level," Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd head of research Chan Ken Yew told theedgemarkets.com over the phone.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 0.15% higher while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.26%. South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.55%.

Reuters reported that Asian stocks edged higher on Monday as China's weekend interest rate cut partially offset soft U.S. data
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