Telcos, Tenaga drag KLCI into the red

KUALA LUMPUR: Profit-taking activities on recent top performers,
including telcos and Tenaga dragged the 30-stock FBM KLCI into the red
as some investors decided it could be time they reduced their exposure
to riskier assets like equities.
However, the profit taking was
not widespread as volume was still low, though advancing counters beat
decliners more than two to one.
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was
down 5.02 points or 0.31% to 1,631.15. Turnover was 354.46mil shares
valued at RM536.24mil. Losers beat gainers 420 to 162 while 312
counters were unchanged.
Bloomberg reported China's stocks fell,
dragging the benchmark index to its lowest level since 2009, on concern
the slowing global growth will hurt earnings.
China's July
preliminary reading of 49.5 for the purchasing managers' index, if
confirmed, would be the highest since February. In June, the final
number was 48.2. A final reading below 50 would cap a nine-month run,
the longest in the index's eight-year history and surpassing the
stretch from August 2008 to March 2009.
Among the key regional
markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 shed 0.06% to 8,503.43; Shanghai's
Composite Index 0.23% lower at 2,136.44; Taiwan's Taiex slipped 0.46%
to 6,996.13 while South Korea's Kospi flat at 1,789.42.
However,
Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 0.54% to 2,998.68 while Hong Kong
was closed due to a storm and was set to open in the afternoon.
US light crude oil rose 59 cents to US$88.73 and Brent gained 77 cents to US$104.03. Spot gold added 51 cents to US$1,577.26.
The ringgit weakened against the US dollar to 3.1745.
Crude palm oil for third-month futures fell RM39 to RM2,951 but off the early low of RM2,9211 - the lowest since June 19.
At Bursa Malaysia, Telekom Malaysia fell eight sen to RM6.10, dragging the KLCI down 0.67 of a point while Maxis gave up six sen to RM6.59, erasing 0.42 of a point off the KLCI while Axiata shed four sen to RM5.81.
Tenaga fell five sen to RM6.67, dragging the index down 0.64 of a point.
Among the plantations, KLK fell 28 sen to RM23.79 and PPB Group eight sen to RM15.42.
Nestle
was the top loser, down 50 sen to RM59.40 with 800 shares done and
Dutch Lady 32 sen to RM35.60 with 300 units done. Cement-based Tasek
lost 28 sen to RM9.60 and Lafarge 16 sen to RM7.82.
Among the
insurers, Takaful lost 15 sen to RM6.25 and Allianz-PA fell 13 sen to
RM5.85 while Allianz was five sen lower to RM5.95.
However, BAT jumped RM2.06 to RM60.48 with 46,100 shares done. Tanjung Offshore surged 16.5 sen to 95.5 sen, its warrants, TgOffs-WB added 10 sen to 19 sen and TgOffs-WB nine sen to 37 sen.