KLCI stages mild rebound at mid-morning

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI staged a mild rebound in early trade on Friday, Aug 12 in line with the advance at key regional markets following the overnight rally at Wall Street.

Wall Street rose 4% overnight on high trading volume, with relatively low valuations and short-term oversold conditions attracting buyers, though a slide in US stock futures in early Asian trade kept the region's climb modest, according to Reuters.

The FBM KLCI rose 10.10 points to 1,486.56 at 10.05am, lifted by gains at select blue chips.

Gainers led losers by 394 to 91, while 184 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 287.4 million shares valued at RM341.82 million.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.31% to 19,851.02, Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.17% to 8,997.55, the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.49% to 2,594.21, Taiwan’s Taiex rose 1.05% to 7,800.28, South Korea’s Kospi up 0.89% to 1,833.63 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index was up 1.26% to 2,831.55.

Strategists at The Royal Bank of Scotland said it has been a very choppy week for markets to say the least, adding that risk appetite forged a comeback yesterday in the absence of additional grim news with equities leading the way

“Data releases have had modest impact on markets lately with the broader risk on/off sentiment the key driver.

“Friday's US retail sales and Michigan confidence numbers are worth watching but are unlikely to contribute significantly to the prevailing market sentiment,” it said in a note Aug 12.

On Bursa Malaysia, Petronas Dagangan was the top gainer and added 26 sen to RM16.80; F&N was up 22 sen to RM18.30, BAT 18 sen to RM44.10, Cycle & Carriage, BLD PLANTATION []s, Petronas Chemicals and Tradewinds rose 16 sen each to RM3.74, RM6.61, RM6.31 and RM8.65 respectively, while KLK and Genting added 14 sen each to RM21.04 and RM10.18.

Among the decliners, Asia File fell 14 sen to RM3.70, Ta Ann down 12 sen to RM5.18, Maybulk seven sen to RM2.01, Sozo 6.5 sen to 47sen, KYM and Top Glove six sen each to RM1.81 and RM5.24 while Fiamma fell five sen to 92 sen.

Dutaland was the most actively trade counter with 19.96 million shares done. The stock added 1.5 sen to 62 sen.

Other actives included MAS, AirAsia, HWGB and Genting.