Market Close KLCI pares losses, falls 0.06%

Business & Markets 2013
Written by Chong Jin Hun of theedgemalaysia.com
Thursday, 25 April 2013 17:25
A + / A - / Reset
KUALA LUMPUR (April 25): The FBM KLCI which fell as much as 7.1
points or 0.4% in volatile trade pared losses to finish 1.01 points or
0.06% lower.
At 5pm, the KLCI settled at 1,706.34 on losses in selected blue-chip
shares like MALAYAN BANKING BHD [] and KUALA LUMPUR KEPONG
BHD [] amid cautious trading ahead of Malaysia's 13th general election.
The KLCI had fallen to an intraday low of 1,700.25 at 9.23am before
rising to a high of 1,709.64 at 12.24pm.
Across Bursa Malaysia, some 747 million shares worth RM1.82 billion
changed hands. There were 299 gainers versus 329 decliners.
The top gainer was GUINNESS ANCHOR BHD [] while NESTLE (M)
BHD [] led decliners. The most-active stock was SapuraKENCANA
PETROLEUM BHD [].
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd research head Low Yee Huap who
expects the KLCI to trade between 1,690 and 1,720 points said the
benchmark's near term upside is limited.
In a note today, Low said this is due to weak buying momentum amid
overbought technical indicators in the broader market. This suggests
further profit-taking ahead of the election, Low said.
"However, given foreign funds inflow and ample cash holdings of
domestic institutional funds and retailers, any weaknesses is likely to be
well cushioned and would see modest bargain hunting activity, as
investors anticipate the KLCI could play catch up against ASEAN bourses’ strong YTD (year-to-date) gains once the election
overhang risk is removed," Low said.
Across Asia, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.6%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.98%, while Singapore's Straits Times was up
0.45%.
Reuters reported that Asian shares rose on Thursday, with recovering commodities and views that a run of weak global
economic data will encourage major central banks to keep or deepen their monetary stimulus improving risk sentiment, but
weak data undermined the dollar.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.7 percent, with Hong Kong shares rising 1.1 percent
and hitting a three-week high, spurred by recovering commodity prices and positive quarterly earnings from China Minsheng
Bank, the country's seventh-largest lender.