KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 20): The FBM KLCI remained in negative zone at mid-morning today as key index-linked blue chips retreated,despite the steady regional markets, in line with the traditionally dismal September record for the local market over the last two decades.
September has historically been the trickiest month in the year for Malaysian equity. The market crashes in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2008 and 2011 all occurred in September.
At 10am, the FBM KLCI was down 2.32 points to 1,774.34.
The top losers included United Malacca Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, United Plantations Bhd, Padini Holdings Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd and Genting Bhd.
The actives included Hubline Bhd, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, UMW Oil & Gas Corp Bhd, Sumatec Resources Bhd, Scomi Group Bhd, CIMB and Sterling Progress Bhd.
The top gainers included KESM Industries Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, Scientex Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Bison Consolidated Bhd, Lii Hen Industries Bhd, Harrisons Holdings (M) Bhd and Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd.
Losers led gainers by 238 to 221, while 288 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 540.62 million shares valued at RM322.19 million.
Asian stocks were mostly steady on Wednesday after Wall Street again rose to record highs, although movements were limited as a wait-and-see mood prevailed before the Federal Reserve reveals its monetary policy stance later in the day, according to Reuters.
The Fed announcement is due at 1800 GMT (3 am Thursday Tokyo time). It is widely expected to keep rates steady after a two-day meeting but announce it will begin paring its bond holdings, with reductions likely to start in coming months, it said.
Hong Leong IB Research in a traders’ brief today said that in the US, the uptrend position may remain stable in the absence of negative headlines.
It said that generally, steadier trading activities may be seen at the end of the FOMC meeting as investors are waiting for clues on the interest rate hike and the balance sheet dialback decisions.
“Also, traders may focus on energy shares with the firmer recovery in WTI crude oil above the US$50 level.
“Meanwhile, with the FBM KLCI pulled back below the 1,780 yesterday, we think that the retracement may persist as profit taking activities continue to take place.
“Shares on the local front may trade on a negative bias mode over the near term.
“Nevertheless, selected stocks within the commodity-related sector may still benefit from the firmer underlying trend such as crude oil and steel,” it said.