KLCI rises 0.68% as glove makers come to the fore on rising global virus infections
KUALA LUMPUR (June 30): The FBM KLCI rose 0.68% at mid-morning on the final trading day of the first half of 2020 as glove makers yet again came to the fore against the backdrop of rising global coronavirus infections.
At 10am, the FBM KLCI rose 10.24 points to 1,504.67.
Market breadth was positive with 544 gainers and 200 losers, while 335 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was 1.63 billion shares valued at RM872.93 million.
The top gainers included Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, QL Resources Bhd, Allianz Malaysia Bhd, Top Glove Corp Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd, Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd and Hartalega Holdings Bhd.
The actives included AT Systematization Bhd, Vsolar Group Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd, Hubline Bhd, LKL International Bhd, MQ Technology Bhd, Careplus Group Bhd, Iris Corp Bhd and HLT Global Bhd.
The decliners included Nestle (M) Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Oriental Holdings Bhd, IHH Healthcare Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Genting Plantations Bhd and G3 Global Bhd.
Bloomberg said Asian stocks opened higher Tuesday, set to round out their best quarter since 2009 in a rebound from a devastating start to the year, as optimism about a recovery overshadows concerns over an increase in US coronavirus cases.
Benchmarks rose more than 1% in Japan, Australia and South Korea. Hong Kong assets will be closely watched after the Trump administration suspended some trade benefits for the city. S&P 500 futures edged higher after the benchmark erased its June decline as a report showed US pending home sales posted a record gain, exceeding all forecasts. The tech-heavy Nasdaq extended gains as Facebook Inc wiped out its losses. The US dollar and Treasuries were little changed. Oil fluctuated, it said.
Hong Leong IB Research said today, hope for a mid-year window dressing and a highly welcomed measure by Bursa/SC last Friday to prolong the short-selling suspension (from June 30 to Dec 31, 2020) coupled with overnight rebound on Wall St are likely to boost KLCI to march further towards 1,500 zones.
“However, barring a decisive recapture above the key 1,511 (200D SMA) resistance level, the odds are still [in] favour for KLCI to consolidate further in the near term amid concerns over the possibility of an aggressive second wave Covid-19 surge in global hotspots and uncertainty in the local political scene,” it said.
Source: TheEdgeMarkets