KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 30): The FBM KLCI rose 17.72 points or 1.1% while the ringgit strengthened as regional share market gained on bargain hunting.
The KLCI closed at 1,621.04 at 5pm. Across the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 2.7%, South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.03% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 1.41%.
Investors bought beaten-down Asian shares, which fell into the red yesterday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slumped 4.05% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 2.97%.
Today, Reuters reported that Asian stock markets rallied on Wednesday after sliding to three-year lows, but concerns lingered over slumping commodities prices and China’s cooling economy.
Asian currencies rose versus the dollar on Wednesday but were on track for hefty quarterly losses, with the Malaysian ringgit poised for its worst quarterly performance in almost 18 years. For the day, the ringgit and other emerging Asian currencies edged higher as gains in regional equities helped bolster risk sentiment.
At 5pm, the ringgit strengthened to 4.3950 against the US dollar; and compared to the Singapore dollar, the ringgit was traded at 3.0887.
JF Apex Securities Sdn Bhd analyst Lee Cherng Wee said the KLCI’s increase was attributed to the regional share market rally.
But the KLCI’s technical signs still indicate a negative long-term outlook, according to Lee.
“From a technical point of view, we still have a negative long-term view on the market considering that it has been on a downward spiral since May this year.
“We are looking at a resistance level of 1,600 for the KLCI,” he said.
Today, Bursa Malaysia saw 1.69 billion shares valued at RM2.49 billion traded. There were 573 gainers and 277 decliners while 289 counters were unchanged.
Top gainers included United Plantations Bhd and Magni-Tech Industries Bhd. Major decliners included Pharmaniaga Bhd and Genting Plantations Bhd.
The most-actively traded stock was The Media Shoppe Bhd, with some 63 million shares traded.
(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.)