KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 24): The FBM KLCI fell 8.76 points or 0.48% as investors took profit from the index's gains yesterday and as oil and gas and plantation shares fell.
At 12:30pm, the KLCI settled at 1,809.92 points on losses in stocks like SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd and Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd. Yesterday, the KLCI rose 9.29 points or 0.51% to close at 1,818.68.
Bursa Malaysia saw some 893 million shares worth RM705 million changed hands. There were 283 gainers versus 389 decliners.
Top gainers included United Plantations Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd and Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd.
Top decliners included Nestle (M) Bhd, FGV and SapuraKencana while the most actively traded stock was Asia Bioenergy Technologies Bhd.
FGV fell after the company announced net profit slumped to RM20.21 million in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2014 (4QFY14) from RM499.92 million a year earlier. Full year net profit dropped to RM306.37 million from RM982.25 million.
SapuraKencana declined as investors reacted to lower crude oil prices amid supply concerns.
Another notable stock is Dialog group Bhd which fell as much as four sen or 2% to RM1.60 after The Edge Financial Daily (Edge FD) reported today that its risk service contract for the Balai Cluster oil field could face a setback.
This is because Petroliam Nasional Bhd may postpone the project’s second phase until crude oil returns to at least US$80 per barrel, according to Edge FD. At 12:30pm, Dialog shares pared losses to settle at RM1.62 with some three million shares changing hands.
In currency markets, the ringgit was traded at 2.6725 against the Singapore dollar and 3.625 to the US dollar
Yesterday, Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said the ringgit could be undervalued. Zeti said the ringgit's performance would reflect the country’s economic fundamentals over time.
Across Asia today, Japan's Nikkei gained 0.1% while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.72%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.3%.
Reuters reported that Asian stocks rose on Wednesday, taking their cues from Wall Street's gains after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggested the Fed would not rush into raising interest rates.