KUALA LUMPUR (May 22): The FBM KLCI stayed below the 1,800 level at the midday break today as measures announced in the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11MP) failed to boost investor sentiment.
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI fell 3.14 points to 1,791.90.
Market breadth was weaker with 412 losers and 245 gainers, while 315 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 794.60 million shares valued at RM774.95 million.
The top losers included Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Sam Engineering Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Oriental Food Industries Bhd, IQ Group Bhd, Khind Holdings Bhd, Westports Holdings Bdh, IFCA MSC Bhd and BLD Plantation Bhd.
The actives included AirAsia X Bhd, Frontken Corporation Bhd, IFCA MSC Bhd, Kanger International Bhd, Dialog Group Bhd and Nexgram Holdings Bhd.
The top gainers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Microlink Solutions Bhd, Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd, United Plantations Bhd, KESM Industries Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd.
Asian shares rose on Friday after Wall Street set another record high with prospects for a Federal Reserve rate hike in June all but quashed, while the dollar steadied after losing ground to the euro for the first time this week on downbeat US data, according to Reuters.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.7% with South Korean, Australian and Hong Kong shares posting sizeable gains. The Shanghai Composite Index extended the previous day's stimulus-hope driven rally and gained 1.2%. It was on track for a 6% weekly gain having climbed to seven-year high, it said.
PublicInvest Research said the market reaction the 11MP was disappointing, as witnessed from the slide in the main and most other sub-indices, though likely due to other on-going concerns as well.
In a strategy note today, the research house said while the initiatives and thrusts were commendable, and noble in many other instances, there was a lack of substance (or rather, the absence of anything new) that could lift market sentiment slowly being ebbed away by current developments.