For the week of March 4 to 10, investors bought RM13.99 million worth of shares in the top 20 stocks on Bloom-berg’s buying-on-weakness list, down from RM16.09 million in the previous week.
Selling activities on Bursa Malaysia accelerated, with RM13.28 million flowing out of the top 20 stocks on the selling-on-strength list, compared with RM3.84 million in the previous week.
Leading the buying-on-weakness list was Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), which attracted an inflow of about RM7.17 million, as its share price fell two sen or 0.6% over the week to RM3.50 last Tuesday.
TM hit its six-month high of RM3.56 on Feb 25 followng an announcement on the telco’s hefty dividend payment amounting to 98 sen per share, and has since then hovered between RM3.44 and RM3.54. Analysts polled by Bloomberg were mixed on the counter, with most calling a “sell” or “hold”.
The shares of PLUS Expressways Bhd dropped one sen or 0.34% over the week to RM2.90 last Tuesday. The fall prompted buying activities that saw some RM1.12 million flowing into the counter.
Four research houses, namely, Citigroup, Macquarie, HwangDBS Vickers and BNP Paribas, recently called a “buy” or “outperform” on PLUS with target prices ranging from RM3.30 to RM4.28.
Investors poured in some RM1.07 million to buy shares in Asiatic Development Bhd when the counter shed six sen or 1.5% over the week to finish at RM4 last Tuesday.
Asiatic’s parent company, Genting Bhd, whose share price slipped 22 sen or 6.5% over the week to RM3.18 last Tuesday, saw an inflow of RM790,000.
The 40-sen decline in the share price of MISC Bhd’s foreign shares attracted buying interest. Some RM750,000 flowed into the counter as its share price closed 4.65% lower over the week to RM8.20 last Tuesday.
Sime Darby Bhd topped the selling-on-strength list as its share price gained 10 sen or 1.83% to RM5.55 last Tuesday. This prompted investors to cash out some RM6 million from the stock.
Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd’s share price rose 30 sen or 3.03% over the week to RM10.20. Investors took advantage of the share price gain and sold some RM3.15 million worth of the stock.
IOI Corp Bhd was another plantation stock that saw its shares being liquidated. The counter gained 12 sen or 3.3% over the week to close at RM3.78 last Tuesday. It saw an outflow of some RM910,000.
The share price gains in the three plantation stocks could be due to a 7.5% gain in three-month crude palm oil futures to RM1,995 per tonne during the week.
Investors also took profits from Tanjong plc as the stock rose 60 sen or 4.3% over the week to close at RM14.60 last Tuesday. Some RM760,000 flowed out of the company during the week.
OSK Research, in a report on March 10, maintained its “buy” call on Tanjong due to the company’s good track record in earnings and dividend payout, as well as the stock’s undemanding valuations.
This article appeared in The Edge Malaysia, Issue 746, March 16-22, 2009