Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 3): The FBM KLCI fell 0.63% at mid-morning on Wednesday as a spate of earnings downgrades and KLCI year-end target cuts kept investors on the sideline

At 10am, the FBM KLCI fell 11.13 points to 1,774.84, weighed by losses at Petronas-linked counters and index-linked banking stocks.

The top losers included Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Asia File Corpoartion Bhd, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd, RHB Capital Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd, TH Plantations Bhd and Southern Acids Bhd.

IFCA MSC Bhd was the most actively traded counter with 27.46 million shares done. The stock fell 0.64% or half a sen to 77.5 sen.

The other actives included Minetech Resources Bhd, Sumatec Resources Bhd, Technodex Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd and Privasia Technologies Bhd.

The top gainers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, United Plantations Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd, Westports Holdings Bhd, Hong Leong Capital Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery (M) Bhd and MMC Corporation Bhd.

Regionally, Asian shares and the dollar got off to a steady start on Wednesday, while oil prices recovered after data showed a drop in U.S. supply, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat, while Japan's Nikkei stock average added 0.6 percent in early trade, after marking a seven-year closing high on Tuesday,it said.

BIMB Securities Research has lowered its end-2014 target for the FBM KLCI to 1,760 from 1,830 previously and said while it opined to have seen the worst in 2Q14, 3Q14 appreared be an extension to the disappointment.

In his strategy report today, BIMB’s Kenny Yee said that with the latest revision, his earnings forecast for 2014 was now a dismal -0.6% from 3.9% whilst consensus have their figure at -0.9% from 3.7% previously.

“In tandem with the lower figures, we have also lowered our FBMKLCI “fair valuation” target for 2014 to 1,760 from 1,830 before and our liquidity induced target at 1,800 from 1,900 previously,” he said.  

Yee said that judging from the recent sell-down on the market, he remained uncertain if any “liquidity induced” buying would be sufficient to spur the FBM KLCI higher as many may use such opportunity as window to lock in profits.

“As such we reckon any potential window dressing program may have to be on a back burner.

“Tracking the foreign funds flow, November saw another net outflow of RM307.5 million pushing total net outflow todate at almost RM4 billion,” he said.

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