Kuala Lumpur, July 13 – Bursa Malaysia closed broadly lower on Wednesday with the barometer index dropped 14.76 points or 1.04% at 1411.32. Market breadth, in overall, remained negative with losers thumped gainers 578 to 249. The index was was dragged by PETRONAS Chemicals amid a tumble in crude oil prices as well as banking stocks. Asian equity markets closed mixed as market sentiment remains gloomy while the focus would be on the release of the inflation rate and. The initial forecast is inflation rate might be higher at 8.8% on an annual basis. This may compel the Fed to adopt a hawkish stand by hiking up the interest rates further. Also, renewed worries over the Covid cases in China are trimming the growth forecasts. A slump in demand forecasts in China will have multiplier effects on other Asian economies.
** The FTSE BM KLCI opened at 1,421.43. The index fluctuated between 1,410.33– 1,421.43.
** 249 counters are gainers, 420 counters are unchanged, while 578 counters are losers.
** Total volume of 1,758,375,800 shares changed hands; while Turnover of RM 1,277,179,441
** The Top 5 Gainers: NESTLE (134.40, +0.60) ; PANAMY (26.50, +0.26) ; CARLSBG (22.00, +0.20) ; HEIM (22.68, +0.20) ; PETDAG (22.04, +0.18)
** The Top 5 Losers: MPI (27.28, -0.54) ; PCHEM (7.88, -0.40) ; PPB (15.68, -0.32) ; MISC (6.54, -0.30) ; PETDAG (16.20, -0.18)
** The Top 5 Most Active Stocks: INFOTEC (0.305, -0.015) ; MTRONIC (0.07, -0.01) ; MTRONIC-WB (0.115, +0.095) ; MQTECH (0.035, -0.005) ; MYEG (0.80, -0.015)
** Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) down 17.08 points or -0.54% to 3,128.69 ; Hong Kong’s HSI ceded 46.79 points or -0.22% at 20,797.95; Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 142.11 points or +0.54% at 26,478.77 ; Korea’s Kospi Index up 10.85 points or +0.47% at 2,328.61; Shanghai’s SSE Index rose 2.84 points or +0.09% at 3,284.29 ; Australia’s All Ordinaries index up 21 points or +0.31% at 6,807.80.
