Kuala Lumpur, December 28 – Reversed earlier loss, Bursa Malaysia ended in positive note on Wednesday with the benchmark index, FBM KLCI climbed 5.42 points or +0.37% at 1,480.11. The KLCI bucked the regional trend and headed north towards the last 2 trading hours.
Most of stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region ended in red as investors are tiptoeing into the new year by weighing the headwinds for the global economy.
The best performer today was Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index which gained 1.56% to 19,898.91. The HKSE bucked the wider trend as Chief Executive John Lee announced further easing of Covid measures for Hong Kong. Meanwhile in mainland China, the Shanghai Composite shrank 0.26% lower at 3,087.40.
On the contrary, South Korea’s Kospi index was the worst performer which slid 2.24% to 2,280.45 as stocks of heavyweight chipmakers and battery manufacturers priced in the effects of ex-dividend, which shareholders would not be entitled to annual payouts for next year.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed 0.41% lower at 26,340.5. The Bank of Japan has reiterated its summary of opinion from its monetary policy meeting held last week, in which it unexpectedly widened the target range for Japanese government bond yields.
** The FTSE BM KLCI opened at 1,473.55. The index fluctuated between 1,461.18– 1,477.50.
** 367 counters are gainers, 387 counters are unchanged, while 564 counters are decliners.
** Total volume of 2.648 billion shares changed hands; while Turnover of RM 1.818 billion
** The Top 5 Gainers: F&N (21.72, +0.32); ALLIANZ (14.20, +0.28); QUALITY (1.32, +0.27); BKAWAN (21.90, +0.26); PMBTECH-WA (3.50, +0.25)
** The Top 5 Losers: NESTLE (138.10, -0.90); MPI (28.92, -0.74); HEXTECH (16.12, -0.58); HSI-HKA (1.19, -0.27); TOYOVEN (0.96, -0.23)
** The Top 5 Active: TOPGLOV (0.895, -0.03); HSI-CJ5 (0.17, +0.01); CYPARK (0.425, -0.015); HSI-HE8 (0.125, -0.045); GOB (0.26, -0.005)
Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) down 4.36 points or -0.13% to 3,262.02; Hong Kong’s HSI climbed 305.85 points or +1.56% at 19,898.91; Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index shrank 107.37 points or -0.41% at 26,340.50; Shanghai’s SSE Composite Index shed 8.17 points or -0.26% at 3,087.40; Korea’s Kospi Index shed 52.34 points or -2.24% at 2,280.45; Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 21.30 points or -0.3% at 7,086.40.
