Kuala Lumpur, January 18 – Bursa Malaysia ended in a mildly bearish note on Wednesday with the benchmark FBM KLCI declined 3.88 points or -0.26% at 1,495.50.
Weighed down by cautious sentiment, The KLCI index was traded weaker due to profit-taking in selected heavyweights.
Bourses in Asia-Pacific region ended mostly higher today. Leading the gains in the region is Japan stock markets, with the Nikkei 225 index surged 2.5% to close at 26,791.12, following the Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced no change to its yield curve control policy. The continuation of an ultra-loose monetary policy by the BoJ has brought a rally in Japanese indices.
BOJ has kept the interest rate unchanged at -0.1% and the 10-year Japan Government bonds target at around 0%. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen weakened 2.04% against the greenback right after the decision was announced and last traded at 130.84.
China’s Vice-Premier Liu He said that the country’s “growth rate in CY2023 is likely to return to normal, as firms increase investment and consumption rebounds” at Davos late Tuesday. He further added that Beijing welcomes foreign investment and seeks to expand foreign trade, as these are strong pillars of China’s economic progress.”
Hong Kong’s HSI had a volatile trading day as the index whipsawed widely. The index was pushed higher towards the final hour of the trading day by inching up 0.47% to close at 21,678. Tencent Holdings and NetEase propped the index by keeping the market upbeat as policy and regulatory sentiment improved. Whilst Shanghai’s SSE Composit Index remained almost flattish by +0.005% at 3,224.41.
** The FTSE BM KLCI opened at 1,495.31. The index fluctuated between 1,491.05 – 1,496.63
** 387 counters are gainers, 427 counters are unchanged, while 423 counters are decliners.
** Total volume of 2.703 billion shares changed hands; while Turnover of RM 2.003 billion
** The Top 5 Gainers: TTVHB (1.28, +0.94); MPI (33.24, +0.74); TEXCHEM (2.18, +0.29); PETDAG (22.52, +0.26); APOLLO (4.08, +0.21)
** The Top 5 Losers: HEIM (26.08, -0.70); KLK (21.24, -0.56); CARLSBG (23.26, -0.40); HEXTECH (24.16, -0.36); AEONCR (12.66, -0.30)
** The Top 5 Active: TTVHB (1.28, +0.94); VELESTO (0.185, +0.00); DNEX (0.60, +0.015); HSI-CJ5 (0.315, +0.015); IRIS (0.115, -0.015)
Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) rose 5 points or +0.15% to 3,285.51; Hong Kong’s HSI gained 100.36 points or +0.47% at 21,678; Japan’s Nikkei 225 index soared 652.44 points or +2.50% at 26,791.12; Shanghai’s SSE Composite Index up 0.16 point or +0.005% at 3,224.41; Korea’s Kospi Index shed 11.07 points or -0.47% at 2,368.32; Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index up 7.1 points or +0.096% at 7,393.40.
