Blue chips lower at noon Wednesday, ringgit jumps against pound

TheStar Wed, Mar 29, 2017 01:12pm - 7 years View Original


KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips slipped at the midday break on Wednesday on some profit taking of  Maybank, Genting and Petronas-linked stocks but the broader undertone was still firm while the ringgit jumped against the pound sterling.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 3.79 points or 0.22% to 1,750.63. Turnover was 1.90 billion shares valued at RM1.10bil. There were 432 gainers, 348 losers and 387 stocks unchanged.

The ringgit fell against the US dollar but rebounded against the pound sterling and eked out gains against the Singapore dollar and Euro.

It fell to 4.4218 against the US dollar from the previous day's close of 4.4135 but jumped 1.32% against the pound to 5.4879 from 5.5611 and added 0.3% against the Euro to 4.7821 from 4.7964 and inched up against the Singapore dollar to 3.1650 from 3.1676.

Asian shares inched ahead on Wednesday while the dollar and commodities held gains as investors shook off disappointment about US President Donald Trump's failed healthcare bill and focused on an improving outlook for global growth, Reuters reported.

The good cheer did not extend to the pound which was on the skids as the British government sent a letter to Brussels formally starting the country's exit from the European Union, it said.

BAT led the losers' list, sliding RM1.38 to RM46.52 on worries about a possible hike in prices which could impact its earnings.

Among the other consumer stocks, Dutch Lady rose 34 sen to RM56.94 and Nestle added 28 sen to RM78.88.

US light crude oil rose 21 cents to US$48.58 and Brent gained 18 cents to US$51.51.

Petronas Dagangan fell 64 sen to RM24.20 and Petronas Gas was down 12 sen to RM19.84 while Petronas Chemicals eked out a one sen gain to RM7.61.

Burn-in tester for chips, KESM fell 14 sen to RM11.62 on some profit taking but trading volume was relatively moderate with 19,200 shares done.

Crude palm oil for third-month delivery rose RM11 to RM2,718 per tonne. Among the KLCI stocks, PPB Group rose two sen to RM16.72, KL Kepong was flat at RM24.78 but Sime Darby lost two sen to RM9.37 and IOI Corp fell five sen to RM4.66.

Far East fell 35 sen to RM8.55 and BLD Plantations 12 sen lower at RM8.53 but UMCCA gained 18 sen to RM6.28 on higher earnings.

Among the financial and banks, HLFG fell 22 sen to RM16.28 in thin trade, RHB Bank six sen to RM5.24, Maybank shed three sen to RM8.97, Public Bank was flat at RM19.92, CIMB added three sen to RM5.59 and Hong Leong Bank four sen higher at RM13.70.

As for telcos, Axiata lost six sen to RM5.11, Telekom one sen lower at RM6.40 while Digi and Maxis were flat at RM5.17 and RM6.44.

Genting Bhd fell eight sen to RM9.67 and Genting Malaysiua one sen lower at RM5.74 while Tenaga was flat at RM13.74.

Among the key regional markets,

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose0.01% to 19,205.38;

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.21% to 24,396.26;

CSI 300 added 0.27% to 3,479.14;

Shanghai’s Composite Index was up 0.14% to 3.257.66;

Hang Seng China Enterprise gained 0.49% to 10,477.50;

Taiwan’s Taiex shed 0.4% to 9,836.87;

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.1% to 2,165.56 and

Singapore’s Straits Times Index advanced 0.63% to 3,177.87.

Spot gold fell US$2.64 to US$1,249.19.

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