Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (July 1): The FBM KLCI rose and the ringgit strengthened after Fitch Ratings upgraded Malaysia's debt outlook.

Fitch said it had maintained its 'A' and 'A-' ratings for Malaysian government debt and upgraded its outlook for the country's long-term issuer default ratings to stable from negative. Fitch said it had taken into account the nation's improving financials and economic growth. 

At 9:04am, the KLCI rose 6.84 points or 0.4% to 1,713.48 points. At 9:27am, the index climbed 11.49 points to 1,718.13.

The index had extended gains after rising 14.72 points or 0.9% yesterday to finish at 1,706.64.

Today, the ringgit strengthened about 1% each against the US and Singapore dollars.

Against the US dollar, the ringgit changed hands 3.7368 and compared to the Singapore dollar, the ringgit was traded  at 2.7770.

Despite Malaysian share gains and the stronger ringgit, analysts warned that Greece's debt default could still affect global market sentiment.

M&A Securities Sdn Bhd research head Rosnani Rasul said Greece's financials could lead to risk-averse sentiment in world markets. Rosnani said the current backdrop "will essentially cap risk taking."

Bursa Malaysia saw some 113 million shares worth RM48 million changed hands. There were 234 gainers versus 52 decliners.

The top gainer was Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd while Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd led decliners.
The most-active stock was iDimension Consolidated Bhd

Across Asian share markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.16% while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.27% as Greece's financials took centre stage.

Reuters reported that Asian share markets were in a guarded mood on Wednesday as Greece became the first developed economy to default on a loan with the International Monetary Fund, setting the scene for another day of uneasy action.

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