KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 31): The benchmark index at Bursa Malaysia fell 17.2 points or 1.05% to 1,627.21 points today, as investors took profit on the last trading day of 2020 prior to the extended New Year weekend.
Losers led gainers by 620 to 474, while 501 counters traded unchanged. Some 5.51 billion shares worth RM3.11 billion were traded today.
The losers list was topped by Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, which slid 60 sen or 1.84% to RM32.08, Nestle (M) Bhd, which fell 60 sen or 0.43% to RM138.9, and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, which dropped 52 sen or 2.15% to RM23.68.
Also on the losers list, at the 11th spot, was Sime Darby Plantation Bhd, which lost 18 sen or 3.48% to settle at RM4.99, following news that the United States has banned imports of palm oil from the group.
The benchmark index closed 0.38% or 6.33 points lower at 1,641.17.
Investors offloaded their holdings ahead of the long Christmas weekend, remisier Jeffry Azizi Jaafar told theedgemarkets.com.
He said sentiment was cautious as the country s Covid-19 cases remained high, especially among foreign workers.
Jeffry expects the KLCI to stay muted next week in the absence of window-dressing activities.
On the broader market, 587 counters ended lower versus 514 gainers, while 480 others were unchanged.
A total of 6.67 billion securities worth RM2.83 billion were traded. This is the lowest trading value since Oct 1 when it stood at RM2.61 billion.
Yesterday, 6.31 billion securities changed hnads at a total value of RM3.41 billion.
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 18): The FBM KLCI slipped 1.31% or 21.86 points today, tracking declines in regional peers, while news of the conditional movement control order being extended weighed on domestic investing sentiment.
The benchmark index settled at 1,652.49, with 852 counters in the negative versus 370 that climbed, while 474 were unchanged.
Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced today that the CMCO will be extended in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Sabah till Dec 31, as Covid-19 infections in these places remain elevated. This is the fourth extension of the CMCO that was first imposed on Oct 14 and originally scheduled to end on Oct 27.
The CMCO was also extended till Dec 31 in Seremban and Port Dickson in Negeri Sembilan, and in Johor Bharu, Batu Pahat and Kulai in Johor.
Rakuten Trade Research vice president Vincent Lau told
theedgemarkets.com today the biggest driver of the KLCI’s rise is the passing of Budget 2021 at third reading in parliament this afternoon.
The news reported that the third reading of Budget 2021 was passed in Dewan Rakyat today after the opposition lost another en bloc vote by a razor-thin margin.
A total of 111 Members of Parliament voted in favour of Budget 2021, which was proposed by the Perikatan Nasional government, versus 108 who voted against the budget, while one was absent.
Across Bursa Malaysia today, sentiment was mixed with 657 gainers versus 524 decliners, while 525 counters were unchanged. A total of 9.96 billion securities were traded for RM5.09 billion, lower than the 11.88 billion units worth RM7.09 billion recorded yesterday.
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 10): The FBM KLCI settled up 6.98 points or 0.42% at 1,653.51 during Bursa Malaysia s noon break today while the Technology index fell over 1% to become the top percentage decliner among bourse gauges after US-listed Facebook Inc s share price closed down 1.93% overnight on news the company is facing US government lawsuits for the alleged breach of antitrust law.
Across Bursa at 12.30pm today, 4.56 billion securities were traded for RM2.55 billion.
Bursa s Technology index, which tracks share prices of companies including semiconductor manufacturers, settled down 1.09% following news reports, which indicated that Facebook could be forced to sell its prized assets WhatsApp and Instagram after the US Federal Trade Commission and nearly every US state filed lawsuits against the social media company, claiming it used a buy or bury strategy to snap up rivals and keep smaller competitors at bay.