Midday Market Tenaga and Petronas stocks power KLCI to fresh high

by **Cals** Fri 27 Dec 2013, 16:37

Midday Market Tenaga and Petronas stocks power KLCI to fresh high

Business & Markets 2013

Written by Surin Murugiah of theedgemalaysia.com

Friday, 27 December 2013 12:47

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27): The FBM KLCI was up 0.85% at the midday break on the final Friday of 2013, powered by Tenaga and Petronas-linked stocks.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI gained 15.81 to a fresh high of 1,859.91.

Gainers led losers by 395 to 254, while 294 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 598.4 million shares valued at RM577.85 million.

The top gainers included KLK, United Plantations, Tenaga, Fima Corp, PPB, Petronas Gas, Petronas Dagangan, Genting Plantations and Hong Leong Bank.

Hubline was the most actively traded counter with 56.21 million shares done. The stock rose half a sen to 5 sen.

The other actives included XDL, BIMB, Hibiscus, Tiger Synergy, Kanger and Borneo Oil.

The top losers included Dutch Lady, Tasek, NSOP, Pertima, F&N, Panasonic, Sarawak Oil Palm, Shell and MBSB.

Affin IB vice president and head of retail research Dr Nazri Khan said that going forward, he expects Bursa to price-in global relief from bullish Fed tapering announcement and gradually extend its rally higher.

“While we expect some quick short term profit-taking at 1,850 resistance level (after 71 points or 3.99% FBM KLCI gain over the last four weeks), eventually the local market will trend higher, pricing in reduced risk premium as some of the tapering uncertainty has finally been removed,” he said.

Nazri said that on the domestic front, he expects rising economic momentum to enter 2014 given the improved external situation, a series of government fiscal reforms, subsidy rationalisation, GST implementation and rescheduling of high import content projects, to show positive results and improve Malaysia fundamentals.

He said that from cycle analysis, seasonal trends usually favoured a strong finish to the month of December with profit taking normally happening just before the Chinese New Year in late January.

“Overall, we expect the bull camp to maintain control riding on year-to-date-momentum

“The fact that the second half of December is usually strong also provides a bullish tailwind for Bursa which should carry into the New Year.

“Strategy-wise, traders should be more aggressive and perhaps use any temporary volatility as opportunity to buy on dips. Aggressive bulls might consider buying FBMKLCI futures riding on trendline breaks above the week high of 1851 and using the week's low of 1,834 as a cut-loss-price.

“Stock-wise, traders should accumulate resource stocks namely oil gas and plantation stocks which do well as external front improves and commodity recovers,” he said.

Elsewhere, most Asian share markets notched up gains on Friday after another powerful performance by Wall Street, while Japanese economic data impressed and the dollar briefly broke the 105 yen barrier for the first time in five years, according to Reuters.

Shanghai made the running with a rise of 0.8 percent as money rates eased and China set its yuan at an historic high. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan managed to add 0.25 percent, it said.