Market Close KLCI rangebound, up 0.2% on high share-trade value

by **Cals** Fri 30 May 2014, 20:05

Market Close KLCI rangebound, up 0.2% on high share-trade value

Business & Markets 2014

Written by Chong Jin Hun of theedgemalaysia.com

Friday, 30 May 2014 17:26

KUALA LUMPUR (May 30): The FBM KLCI vacillated between gains and losses before falling 3.24 points or 0.2% on significantly higher share-trade value of some RM6 billion.

Analysts said the KLCI reflected rangebound trade as profit taking by local investors offset the impact of foreign-fund inflows into local equities.

At 5pm, the KLCI settled at 1,873.38. The decline came on losses in stocks like YTL Corp Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd.

"Local institutional and retail investors sold their shares to lock in profit", RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd Executive Director Lim Chee Sing told theedgemalaysia.com over telephone today.

Bursa Malaysia saw 1.92 billion shares worth RM6.01 billion changed hands. There were 370 gainers versus 441 decliners.

In the previous two days, the value traded was at some RM2 billion a day.

Today, the top gainer was Public Bank Bhd while Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd led decliners. The most active stock was newly-listed 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd.

Lim, whose comments came on the final day of the May corporate financial reporting season, said local stock market dynamics did not solely hinge on the January-to-March quarter results.

While domestic corporate earnings disappoint, Lim said investors were also mindful of prospects in advanced economies like the US, Japan and European nations.

In the US, the Bureau of Economic Analysis indicated that its second forecast for first-quarter GDP showed a 1% decline. This compares
with a 0.1% growth estimated earlier.

On Japan, Lim said "the underlying trend is weak."

Across Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.34% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.31%.

Reuters reported that Asian shares saw their gains unravel on Friday after rising on another record Wall Street close, while the dollar groaned under the pressure of slumping U.S. yields.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged down about 0.2 percent, but was still on track for a solid monthly rise, after it touched an intraday one-year high for the sixth time in the last seven sessions.

Next week, Malaysia's Statistics Department will announce the country's May external trade numbers on Friday, June 6.