KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): The FBM KLCI fell as investors took profit from the index's earlier gains ahead of China's economic numbers announcement tomorrow (April 15).
Today, the KLCI fell 2.47 points or 0.13% to close at 1,839.61, following a weaker overnight close at US markets.
Earlier today, the KLCI had risen to an intraday high of 1,846.31, tracking gains across certain Asian markets.
South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.61%, while Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.02%. In China, the Shanghai Composite gained 0.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.62%.
Hong Kong shares on profit taking, following substantial gains recently. Chinese shares fought to sustain yet another seven-year peak on Tuesday, a day before the country updates on economic growth, while much of the rest of Asia took a breather after recent hefty gains, Reuters reported.
In Malaysia, Pong Teng Siew, head of research at Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd, told theedgemarkets.com that the local market was subdued today, following a lower overnight finish at US markets.
Pong said KLCI valuations were "approaching a ceiling" which made investors more cautious, as the index had previously retreated after approaching the valuation barrier.
“The local market’s valuations are approaching a ceiling. There is still room for a little more upside, but we don’t know how much,” he said.
Bloomberg data showed KLCI was traded at a price-earnings ratio of about 17 times.
Across the board, Bursa Malaysia saw some 2.02 billion shares worth RM2.08 billion traded. Decliners beat gainers at 459 against 359, while 339 counters were unchanged.
Leading decliners included RHB Capital Bhd, while Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd led decliners. The most-active stock was Bioalpha Holdings Bhd, which was listed on Bursa Malaysia today.
In currency markets, the ringgit strengthened against the US dollar at 3.7005, but weakened versus the Singapore dollar at 2.7145.
Reuters reported the Singapore dollar rallied on Tuesday, leading gains in Asian currencies, after the central bank surprised markets by holding monetary policy steady and expressed confidence in the trade-reliant economy's growth outlook.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it would maintain a modest and gradual appreciation of the Singapore dollar's nominal effective exchange rate, defying expectations it might loosen policy.