KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 13): The FBM KLCI pared some of its gains at the midday break, despite the rally at most regional markets.
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up 1.26 points to 1,642.63. The index had earlier risen to its intra-morning high of 1,646.48.
Gainers led losers by 385 to 319, while 357 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 984.19 milion shares, valued at RM825.63 million.
The top gainers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Scientex Bhd, Lay Hong Bhd, KESM Industries Bhd, Amway (M) Holdings Bhd, United U-Li Corporation Bhd, Can-One Bhd, Harbour-Link Group Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd.
The actives included Dufu Technology Bhd, Tiger Synergy Bhd, Borneo Oil Bhd, AirAsia X Bhd, Instacom Group Bhd and Emico Holdings Bhd.
The losers included Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Globetronics Technology Bhd, Panasonic Malaysia Manufacturing Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, Enro Group Bhd and Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd.
Asian shares made their first real rally of the year on Wednesday, after Chinese data trade data beat expectations, offering a rare shaft of light for the global economy, according to Reuters.
Japan's Nikkei jumped 2.6% from a near-one-year trough, while battered Australian stocks gained 1.3%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan sped ahead by 1.6% and away from its lowest since late 2011, it said.
AffinHwang Capital Research said bearish sentiments from China’s sell-offs, Yuan devaluation and tension in the middle east, may drag our local market lower.
“Weak ringgit, sliding oil price and continuous strengths of US dollar, pose negative catalysts for local market.
“The FBM KLCI continues to consolidate, mainly due to external factors,” it said.
(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)