Market Close KLCI, Asian shares gain after China GDP data

by **Cals** Wed 20 Jan 2016, 09:01

Market Close

[size=28]KLCI, Asian shares gain after China GDP data

By Yimie Yong / theedgemarkets.com | January 19, 2016 : 5:53 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 19): The FBM KLCI rose 6.58 points or 0.4%, tracking Asian share market gains on expectation that China will announced measures to mitigate slower economic growth.

At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,629.22 points on gains in stocks like Sime Darby Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Valuation: 1.40, Fundamental: 0.80) and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd ( Valuation: 0.70, Fundamental: 2.70).

In China, the Shanghai Composite rose 3.22%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed 2.07% higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 0.55%.

Reuters reported that China's economy grew 6.8% in the fourth quarter, from a year earlier, Tuesday's gross domestic product (GDP) data showed, the slowest growth since 2009.

It was reported that Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday, as Shanghai stocks surged, after data pointing to slower Chinese economic growth fanned stimulus hopes.

In Malaysia, a research head at a stock broking firm told theedgemarkets.com that the local stock market and Asian equities were generally higher, as China's economic data was within expectation and investors were not too disappointed.

“Though it is the slowest growth reported in years, it is still within expectation. Moving forward, oil price and the ringgit will be closely watched,” he said.

Bursa Malaysia saw 588 advancers versus 301 decliners, while 338 counters were unchanged. A total of 2.2 billion shares, valued at RM1.77 billion, exchanged hands.

The top gainer was British American Tobacco (M) Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Valuation: 1.50, Fundamental: 1.35), while the leading decliner was Petronas Gas Bhd. The most actively-traded counters included Sanichi Technology Bhd ( Valuation: 1.70, Fundamental: 1.50) and Xidelang Holdings Ltd ( Valuation: 1.10, Fundamental: 1.30).

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)
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