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KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): The FBM KLCI had fallen 4.07 points to 1,623.14 points at 9.05am this morning after opening 1.8 points higher.
There were 180 winners against 661 losers, with 325 counters unchanged. Total shares traded stood at 1.35 billion units worth RM902.88 million.
The first losers were Supermax Corp Bhd, Yinson Holdings Bhd, Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd, Gamuda Bhd, Greatech Technology Bhd, Hong Leong Industries Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, and Top Glove Corp Bhd.
Reuters reported that investors were cautiously watching Georgia’s runoff elections for two US Senate seats tomorrow that will determine which party controls the Senate.
If Republicans win one or both, they will retain a slim majority in the House and may block the legislative goals and judicial nominees of President-elect Joe Biden.
“If Democrats win both races, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would be the deciding vote, giving the party unified control of the White House and Congress,” CBA analysts said.
“This would increase the likelihood that Congress will quickly pass a material package of US infrastructure spending.”
Oil prices stabilized after a couple of months of strong gains, and Brent encountered resistance around US $ 52.50 (RM210.10) a barrel, it said.
In a note, the Rakuten Trade research team said that Asian markets mostly closed higher in late 2020.
“Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.31% or 84 points to 27,231.1 and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.72% or 58.6 points to 3,473.1.
“The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 Index reached all-time highs on the final trading day of 2020, closing a volatile year. The Dow Jones advanced 196.9 points to 30,606.5 and the S&P 500 Index rose 0.64% to 3,756.1 points. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index, led by technology, closed 18.3 points higher at 12,888.3 last Thursday, “he said.
The team expected regional markets to weaken as Covid-19 cases had skyrocketed and some countries were considering more closures.
“In the meantime, we expect the local exchange to see a weaker open also due to the lack of catalysts with US futures remaining flat. Therefore, we see the KLCI possibly testing the 1,620 / 25 range. today. News of the termination of [Kuala Lumpur-Singapore] High-speed rail (HSR) may generate some building and construction material stock sales today. On the positive side, the ringgit has continued to strengthen against the USD (US dollar) now at RM4.02, which is positive for importers, namely auto stocks, “he said.
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