Market Close FBM KLCI ends flat on Christmas eve

by **Cals** Wed 24 Dec 2014, 19:31

Market Close
FBM KLCI ends flat on Christmas eve

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 24): The FBM KLCI ended the trading day on Christmas eve almost flat, with marginal gain of barely 0.69 points, to close at 1,749.74 points on profit-taking after a technical rebound.
The benchmark index which opened on a soft note slipped to its intra-day low of 1,732.15 points. It managed to pare down losses in the afternoon session amidst support from some year-end window dressing activities.
The lacklustre trading was also due to the current festive holiday season coupled with lack of buying impetus.
A fund manager told theedgemarkets.com the market was trading sideways today with investors selling in the morning as the year starts to wind down.
He said investors were wary of holding on to stocks during the holiday season as most people would be away until year-end.
"This explains why it went down 15 points in the morning,” he said.
However, firmer overnight crude oil price helped lift sentiment, he added.
As at 4.30pm, the Brent Crude Oil index was traded at US$61.33 per barrel, down 0.58%, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped 0.68% to US$56.73 a barrel.
He also noted that trading volume of 1.05 billion shares was very thin, reflective of the holiday sentiment.
Decliners led gainers by 394 against 333, while 313 counters traded unchanged.
On market outlook next week, he believed trading would be limited as December-end was always quiet.
He said investors would closely observed factors such as the crude oil prices and the ringgit.
“Any weakening of the ringgit would be perceived as negative. Vice versa, a strengthening of the ringgit would be perceived as positive," he said.
Top gainers included Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard), Tecnic Group Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) and UMW Holdings Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) while top losers were British America Tobacco (M) Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard), Harrisons Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) and Allianz Malaysia Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard).
The most actively traded stock was Hubline Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard), which closed 0.5 sen higher at four sen with 64.63 million shares done.
On the regional front, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 219.09 points or 1.24% at 17854.23, while Hang Seng closed marginally higher at 0.07% or 15.65 points at 23349.34 today.
Reuters reported that Asian stocks gained on Wednesday thanks to surprisingly robust US economic growth, helping investors head into the Christmas holidays in a more relaxed mood after the global market turbulence of the past two weeks.
Risk appetite was sharpened by revised data showing the US economy grew at 5% in the third quarter, the quickest pace in 11 years and the strongest sign yet that growth has decisively shifted into higher gear, the report read.