Tenaga top loser, weighs on KLCI ahead of Fed decision

March 21, 2019 editor

KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips extended their losses on Wednesday in the absence of firm insitutional buying support ahead of the US Federal Reserve decision and tensions in the US-China trade tensions.

Dragging the FBM KLCI into the red were Tenaga Nasional, Petronas Chemicl and CIMB which erased a combined 4.65 points from the index.

Despite the positive outlook coming out from the two-day Invest Malaysia conference, investors were staying on the sidelines due to uninspiring corporate results.

At 5pm, the KLCI was down 3.47 points or 0.21% to 1,684.21. Turnover was 2.59 billion shares valued at RM1.83bil. There were 363 gainers, 469 losers and 374 counters unchanged.

Among the key regional markets, the Hong Kong stock market ended lower as investors kept a cautious stance ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision later in the day and on reports of renewed tension in US-China trade negotiations, Reuters reported.

The Hang Seng index and the Hang Seng China Enterprises index ended down 0.5% each. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.2%, China’s Shanghai Composite shed 0.01% and Singapore’s STI lost 0.41%.

The ringgit advanced against the US dollar, up 0.24% to 4.0660; up 0.4% to the pound sterling to 5.3813 and rose 0.19% to the euro to 4.6172. It gained 0.14% to the Singapore unit to 3.0117.

At Bursa, Tenaga was the top loser, down 18 sen to RM13.02 and erased 1.78 points, Genting Malaysia fell three sen to RM3.40 while Genting was flat at RM6.93.

Petronas Chemical lost 11 sen to RM9.14 and wiped out 1.53 points. Petronas Gas was flat at RM17.70, Petronas Dagangan gained 14 sen to RM24.98 while Dialog shed one sen to RM3.18.

CIMB fell eight sen to RM5.39 and erased 1.33 points, Public Bank two sen to RM24.46, Maybank and RHB Bank shed one sen each to RM9.47 and RM5.77, AmBank gained two sen to RM4.61 while Hong Leong Bank added four sen to RM20.80.

Crude palm oil for third month delivery rose RM31 to RM2,162 per tonne.

Sime Plantation rose six sen to RM5.15 and added 0.72 of a point, KL Kepong six sen higher also at RM24.98, IOI Corp and PPB Group unchanged at RM4.55 and RM18.32. Genting Plantations lost 12 sen to RM10.48 and Chin Tek 10 sen to RM6.60.

Source: TheStar