KLCI closes off day's low, sentiment cautious

KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign fund selling of selected index-linked stocks
weighed on the FBM KLCI on Tuesday amid a weaker broader market, which
was buffeted by worries about the Eurozone debt crisis.
At 5pm,
the FBM KLCI closed down 6.80 points or 0.42% to 1,614.24, but off the
intra-day's low of 1,601. Turnover was 961.10 million shares valued at
RM1.79bil. Declining stocks beat advancers three to one, with 604
losers, 199 gainers and 297 stocks unchanged.
Analysts said
there were concerns about the weakening market sentiment and they
expected the market to continue to trade sideways or maybe with a
downward basis. They said some foreign funds were selling stocks with
high foreign shareholding including CIMB and AirAsia.
On
the external front, wire reports said Asian markets mostly retreated
following losses on Wall Street as dealers awaited a meeting of the US
Federal Reserve policy committee hoping for a fresh round of stimulus
measures.
Attention was also on Germany, where a court is due to
rule on the constitutional legality of Berlin taking part in a rescue
fund set up to support under-pressure countries.
Among the key
regional markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.7% to 8,807.38; Shanghai's
Composite Index slipped 0.67% to 2,120.55 and South Korea's Kospi was
down 0.24% to 1,920.00.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.15%
to 19,857.88; Taiwan's Taiex inched up 0.03% to 7,485.13 and
Singapore's Straits Times Index 0.26% higher to 3,016.40.
US light crude oil rose 12 cents to US$96.66 and Brent added 24 cents to US$115.05. Spot gold climbed US$7.07 to US$1,733.14.
The ringgit was stronger against the US dollar at 3.0905.
Crude palm oil for third-month futures fell RM27 to RM2,910. PPB Group lost 32 sen to RM12.68 and KL Kepong 24 sen to RM22.04 but IOI Corp rose eight sen to RM5.07. United Plantations gained 54 sen to RM26.44.
BAT was the top loser, down 62 sen to RM62.38 while Nestle fell 40 sen to RM62.40. Among the banks, Hong Leong Bank lost 36 sen to RM13 while CIMB fell 12 sen to RM7.28, but off its intra-day low of RM7.15.
Tenaga fell 12 sen to RM6.63 and UMW 11 sen to RM9.99 while Maxis shed nine sen to RM6.78. AirAsia fell nine sen to RM3.19, but off the low of RM3.15.
Petronas Chemicals was the top gainer, up 11 sen to RM6.39, recovering from the recent selling bout but Petronas Gas fell 22 sen to RM18.50.
Aeon Credit rose 26 sen to RM10.90 as its one-for-five bonus issue went ex on Tuesday. Litrak and Parkson added 12 sen each to RM4.32 and RM4.50.