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KUALA LUMPUR (May 13): The FBM KLCI rose 1.34% in today’s mid-day recess as health stocks raised the benchmark against the backdrop of renewed fears of a second wave of coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian economy contracted 2% on a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis in the first quarter of 2020 (1Q20) as a result of the impact of measures taken globally and nationally to contain the spread of the Covid pandemic. 19, Bank Negara Malaysia said today.
The growth of the gross domestic product of 0.7% for 1Q20 is a strong moderation compared to the previous quarter, which grew 3.6%.
At 12:30 p.m., the FBM KLCI rose 18.54 points to 1,398.47.
Sentiment remained tepid with 357 losers and 318 winners, while 520 counters were traded unchanged. Trading volume increased to 5.79 billion shares valued at RM2.86 billion.
Top winners included Top Glove Corp Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, United Plantations Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd, Comfort Gloves Bhd, QL Resources Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, HLT Global Bhd, and IHH Healthcare Bhd.
Assets included HLT, mTouche Technologies Bhd, LKL International Bhd, Key Alliance Group Bhd, UCrest Bhd, and Careplus Group Bhd.
Declinators included Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd, KESM Industries Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, and Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd.
Kenanga IB Research said Asian markets ended lower yesterday, largely driven by growing concerns about further outbreaks of coronavirus cases in South Korea, China and elsewhere.
In that country, the FBM KLCI lost 2.38 points or 0.17% to finish at 1,379.93.
“In terms of charts, the index, after recovering from the previous oversold position to close the gap that opened during the market crisis in mid-March, could face further selling pressures in the future.
“On the chart, our immediate support levels are 1,360 (S1) and 1,310 (S2).
“On the upside, our resistance levels can be found at 1,400 (R1) and 1,420 (R2),” he said.
