Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 30): Plantation stocks are on the rise today on the back of recovering crude palm oil prices, and possible lower output in Indonesia due to the El Nino effect.

Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd rose as much as 54 sen or 2.53% to RM21.90 earlier today — making it one of the top gainers in the local exchange.

At 3.36pm, it has pared some of its gains to trade at RM21.70 — still up 34 sen or 1.59% — after some 773,700 shares were done.

IOI Corp Bhd, which gained as much as 18 sen or 4.6% to RM4.09, eased to RM4.07 — still up 16 sen — after 7.79 million shares changed hands at 3.38pm.

One of the most battered plantation stocks this year, Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd, reached a high of RM1.54, up 11 sen or 7.69%, before easing down to RM1.50 at 3.42pm, still up 7 sen or 4.9%.

Kretam Holdings Bhd was also up 3 sen or 7.59% to 42.5 sen after 3.27 million units were traded. It earlier reached a high of 44.5 sen apiece, up 5 sen or 12.66%.

Golden Agri-Resources Ltd chairman and chief executive officer Franky Widjaja told theedgemarkets.com Singapore today that the ongoing El Nino effect might cause production of palm oil in Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of the commodity, to drop by 25% to 30%.

From a recent low of RM1,867 a tonne on Aug 26, the Malaysian palm oil futures benchmark December palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange traded at RM2,417 per tonne as at 2.30pm today, after erasing earlier gains to dip RM34 or 1.39%.

Palm oil futures has surged for the sixth day in a row to a new 15-month high on Tuesday, bolstered by bullish analyst forecasts, a weakening ringgit, and expectations that the recent dry weather and haze will curb crop output, Reuters reported yesterday.

(Note: The Edge Research’s fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)

 

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