Market Close KLCI makes 11th hour gains, China GDP within expectations

Market Close KLCI makes 11th hour gains, China GDP within expectations
Business & Markets 2013
Written by Kamarul Anwar of theedgemalaysia.com
Monday, 15 July 2013 17:44

KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): The FBM KLCI erased losses about half an hour before closing as regional indices advanced. This came on news that China's second quarter (2Q) economic growth came in within expectations.

At 5pm, the KLCI gained 1.02 points or 0.06% to settle at its intraday high of 1,786.67 points. This is just a few points shy of its all-time high 1,788.43 points.

The composite index which was relegated into the red for most of the day, went down to as low as 1,781.64 points.

Most index-linked stocks closed lower or unchanged today. But the blue-chip stocks that supported the benchmark were MALAYAN BANKING BHD [], PUBLIC BANK BHD [], AMMB HOLDINGS BHD [], PPB GROUP BHD [] and MISC BHD [].

Interpacific Securities head of research Pong Teng Siew told theedgemalaysia.com that the KLCI’s weaker performance earlier today was to make up for the last-minute spike last Friday.

On that day, the benchmark shot up 3.38 points nine minutes before the closing bell.

“Most regional indices were down on Friday and they made very small gains today.

The KLCI is still in line with the region and just gave up some of its gains last Friday,” Pong said over telephone.

RHB Research analyst Mohammad Ashraf Abu Bakar concurred that the local stock barometer was still faring positively.

He observed that investors were doing rotational plays where they switched to less-performing stocks from last week.

“Look at TNB (TENAGA NASIONAL BHD []) for example. It made big gains last week and now it is consolidating.

"And now, investors are looking at banking stocks,” he said.

Mohammad Ashraf also said at the rate that the KLCI is going, it is possible that it will test the 1,800-level by end of this year in line with many fund managers' projections.

Across Bursa Malaysia, a total of 1.12 billion shares cumulatively valued at RM1.61 billion changed hands.

Gainers edged decliners at 372 and 356 respectively.

LUSTER INDUSTRIES BHD [] was the most-active entity across the bourse today. It was followed by China Stationery Ltd and FLONIC HI-TEC BHD [].

The biggest gainers were TAHPS GROUP BHD [], PUNCAK NIAGA HOLDINGS BHD [] and ALLIANZ MALAYSIA BHD [].

Today’s biggest decliners included NESTLE (M) BHD [], BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (M) [] Bhd and NPC RESOURCES BHD [].

Most Asia Pacific indices were up. Japan’s Nikkei crept up by 33.67 points or 0.23%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 26.03 points or 0.12%, China’s Shanghai Composite reaped 19.9 points or 0.98%, Australia’s ASX 200 was up by 7.22 points or 0.15% while South Korea’s Kospi gained 5.18 points or 0.28%.

Across the causeway, Singapore’s Straits Times inched up 3.14 points or 0.1%.

Reuters reported that Asian stocks rose on Monday, while the Australian dollar popped higher as investors heaved a sigh of relief after a batch of Chinese data showed the slowdown in the region's economic powerhouse was not as bad as feared.

China's GDP growth slowed to 7.5 percent in the 2Q of 2013 from a year earlier. This compares to a growth of 7.7% in 1Q.

The 2Q number, announced by the National Bureau of Statistics, was in line with market expectations in a Reuters poll.