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KUALA LUMPUR (October 14): Following the example of the overnight falls on Wall Street, the FBM KLCI fell 0.13% or 1.95 points to close today at 1,523.25 points.
However, overall market sentiment was positive despite the benchmark falling, with 523 accountants posting gains, 515 accountants unchanged, and 443 accountants posting declines. The trading volume stood at 7.03 billion shares, down from 5.97 billion yesterday, with a total turnover of RM6.26 billion.
Areca Capital Sdn Bhd CEO Danny Wong said theedgemarkets.com that the performance of the local benchmark had mirrored the overnight contraction seen on Wall Street, as a result of stalled US stimulus talks and Covid-19 vaccine trials.
“The drop, however, was mitigated in part by the performance of the rubber glove counters today,” Wong said, adding that the higher trading volume observed could be partly attributed to investors seeking to ensure that the exposure of its portfolio of technology stocks and rubber gloves is higher, in preparation for the release of third quarter earnings which are expected to be higher on a quarterly basis.
Increased demand for rubber glove stocks has also been driven by the resurgence of Covid-19 cases in the country, he said, as well as news that Top Glove Corp Bhd is listed in Hong Kong and Supermax Corp Bhd and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd could be included in the FBM KLCI.
The top stocks currently active include Metronic Global Bhd, Kanger International Bhd and ES Ceramics Technology Bhd, while the list of winners was headed by Malaysia Pacific Industries Bhd, Rubberex Corp (M) Bhd and Hartalega Holdings Bhd. The main losers, on the other hand, were Nestlé (Malaysia) Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd and Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd.
According to Reuters, Asian stocks tumbled today on news that some Covid-19 vaccine trials were halted, and a stalemate in US stimulus talks soured risk appetite, while oil was hit by Demand concerns amid rising coronavirus cases.
Losses began on Wall Street on Tuesday when Johnson & Johnson said it was pausing a trial of the Covid-19 vaccine due to an unexplained illness in a study participant. Eli Lilly and Co later said that it had also stopped the clinical trial of its Covid-19 antibody treatment due to a safety concern, prompting the US stock market to deepen losses, “the agency wrote of news.
Faded hopes for the approval of a new coronavirus aid package also weighed on sentiment, as the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, rejected a White House aid proposal for 1, 8 trillion dollars, it reported.
Meanwhile, the region’s key indices were mixed.
While Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished 0.07% or 17.41 points higher at 24,667.09, its Shanghai counterpart, the Shanghai Composite, fell 0.56% or 18.97 points to close at 3,340.78 . Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.11% or 24.95 points to 23,626.73, while South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.94% or 22.67 points to 2,380.48.
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