Market Close KLCI sees 11th-hour surge on crude oil, ringgit gains

by **Cals** Fri 17 Apr 2015, 00:18

Market Close
KLCI sees 11th-hour surge on crude oil, ringgit gains
By Chen Shaua Fui / theedgemarkets.com | April 16, 2015 : 5:42 PM MYT
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KUALA LUMPUR (Apr 16): The FBM KLCI closed 7.81 points or 0.42% higher as an 11th-hour surge helped the index finish in positive territory.
The KLCI had gained as higher crude oil prices, firmer ringgit and upward trend in most regional share markets supported sentiment. At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,847.94 points as stocks like United Plantations Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Financial Dashboard) and PBB Group Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) advanced.
Plantation stocks together with oil and gas-related shares like SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) were beneficiaries of higher crude oil prices.
“These factors (rebound in crude oil prices and strengthening of the ringgit) has improved sentiment and given investors confidence. The rebound in oil price is good for us as we are exporting oil and the strengthening of the ringgit has given a helping hand,” a technical analyst told theedgemarkets.com.
Bursa Malaysia saw 2.7 billion shares worth RM2.52 billion traded. There were 571 gainers against 340 decliners while 357 counters were unchanged.
Top gainers included United Plantations, Melati Ehsan Holdings Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) and Public Bank Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard), while the top decliners included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard), APM Automotive Holdings Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard).
Actively-traded stocks included Frontken Corp Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard), Xinghe Holdings Bhd and Perisai Petroleum Tecknologi Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard).
Crude oil prices rose as US oil production slowed. Reuters reported that Brent crude oil hit 2015 highs above $63 per barrel on Thursday after a rally of more than 5% the previous session, and analysts said more price rises were likely despite market oversupply.
In currency markets, the ringgit was traded at 3.6538 against the US dollar, and 2.6995 against the Singapore dollar.
Share markets across the region gained. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.08%, Hong Kong’s Hang Sang climbed 0.44% while South Korea’s Kospi increased 0.94%.
Reuters reported that most Asian share markets took cues from a global surge in equities and rose on Thursday, while weak US economic data sent the dollar lower.[/size]