KLCI falls 0.57% as banking stocks, Tenaga drag

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 16): The FBM KLCI fell 0.57% at mid-morning today, bucking the trend at regional markets, as banking stocks and Tenaga Nasional Bhd dragged.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI lost 8.95 points to 1,576.19.

Losers outpaced gainers by 317 to 177, while 314 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 725.64 million shares valued at RM311.66 million.

The top losers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Tenaga, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd and Pintaras Jaya Bhd.

The actives included Vortex Consolidated Bhd, Hubline Bhd, Yong Tai Bhd, Alam Maritim Resources Bhd, Mudajaya Group Bhd, JAKS Resources Bhd and Cuscapi Bhd.

The gainers included UWC Bhd, Allianz Malaysia Bhd, Vitrox Corp Bhd, Genting Plantations Bhd, JHM Consolidation Bhd, Coastal Contracts Bhd and Greatech Technology Bhd.

Reuterssaid world stocks inched to a record high on Thursday after the United States and China signed a deal to defuse their 18-month trade war, which has weighed on global economic growth and hampered investments.

MSCI's broadest index of world stocks firmed 0.04% in early trade after closing at record level on Wednesday while its index on Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1%, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said following the signing of the Phase 1 trade deal, investors will look forward for more details on the Phase 2 trade talks.

It said the US is set to maintain tariffs on roughly two-thirds of imports from China, but US President Donald Trump commented he will agree to take the tariffs off if both the US and China could agree on the Phase 2 trade deal, where most of the details are still unsure.

"With the fairly positive sentiment, we think the Dow could trend higher over the near term.

"We expect the positive sentiment to spill over on stocks on the local front, lifting the FBM KLCI in the near term.

"However, with the anticipation of softer earnings season in February, coupled with the local political noise, which may contribute to softer-than-expected foreign inflows moving forward; the FBM KLCI's upside could be capped near term along 1,600-1,620.

"Nevertheless, traders could look into building material segments such as cement and steel- and metal-related stocks for trading opportunities," it said.