Markets rally, KLCI up 19 pts as Fed puts off tapering (Update)

by **Cals** Thu 19 Sep 2013, 16:47

Published: Thursday September 19, 2013 MYT 12:48:00 PM
Updated: Thursday September 19, 2013 MYT 1:14:43 PM
Markets rally, KLCI up 19 pts as Fed puts off tapering (Update)
BY JOSEPH CHIN

KUALA LUMPUR: Key Asian markets rallied, with Malaysia’s blue chips surging more than 20 points on Thursday, after the US Federal Reserve decided not to start tapering its massive monetary stimulus just yet.
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up 19 points to 1,789.40, but off the early high of 1,792.98. Turnover was 683.10 million shares valued at RM767.42mil. There were 523 gainers, 127 losers and 200 counters unchanged.

Reuters reported Asian shares and currencies surged across the board on Thursday after the Federal Reserve maintained its $85 billion monthly asset-buying programme, confounding expectations of a reduction by roughly $10 billion. This sent global bond yields and the dollar into a tailspin.

From Jakarta to Manila, Tokyo to Sydney investors celebrated the prospect of prolonged stimulus in the world's largest economy. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped 2.2% to a four-month peak.

The US dollar languished near a seven-month low against a basket of major currencies on Thursday. The dollar index slid 1.2% overnight, its biggest one-day slide in more than two months.

The ringgit rose to 3.1645 against the US dollar from the previous close of 3.2340.

At Bursa Malaysia, Petronas related stocks led the KLCI higher, with Petronas Daganagan up 46 sen to RM28.48. Petronas Gas’s gain of 42 sen to RM21.76 pushed the KLCI higher by 2.28 points.

Genting Bhd rebounded, up 29 sen to RM10.06 while UMW added 36 sen to RM12.76.

CIMB rose 19 sen to RM7.79 and pushed the KLCI up a hefty 3.29 points. Hong Leong Bank gained 12 sen to RM14.32 and Maybank four sen to RM10.24.

Crude palm oil for third-month delivery fell RM16 to RM2,306. While KL Kepong rose 30 sen to RM22.50, Sime Darby added three sen to RM9.52.

Focal Aims continued to rally, rising 13 sen to RM1.76, which was 36 sen above EcoWorld Development’s takeover offer of RM1.40.

Narra Industries fell nine sen to RM1.63 after it hit limit-up three straight days, prompting Bursa Malaysian Securities to freeze the upper prize at RM1.70 on Wednesday.

Glove makers fell, with Top Glove down 21 sen to RM6.29, Haratalega-WA 10 sen to RM3.05 while Supermax lost nine sen to RM2.65.

Among the key regional markets:

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.58% to 14,734.79;

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.71% to 23,512.12;

Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 1.78% to 3,250.77.

US light crude oil rose 60 cents to US$108.67 and Brent 27 cents to US$110.87.

Spot gold fell US$1.93 to US$1,361.84.