Business

Friday September 19, 2008 MYT 9:29:30 AM

Fresh hopes push KLCI above 1,000

By JOSEPH CHIN


KUALA LUMPUR: Fresh hopes of the US government’s move to implement a plan to strengthen the US financial market gave some hope to US and Asian markets while the KL Composite Index crossed the 1,000-mark easily on bargain hunting.

At 9.08am, the KLCI was up 11.49 points to 1,003.15. Turnover was 23.83 million shares valued at RM39mil. There were 114 gainers, 12 losers and 55 counters unchanged.

Asian markets also rose, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 300 points or 2.61% to 11,789.35, Singapore’s Straits Times Index rallied 3.6% to 2,506.22 while South Korea’s Kospi gained 3.62% to 1,442.78.

In US, stocks rallied after the US government reassured worried investors that it would draw up a “permanent” plan to shore up financial markets.

US regulators and pension funds also implemented measures to curb bents against banks and brokerages.

However, OSK Investment Research said with the global economy slowing, the financial markets in turmoil and protracted political uncertainties, the short term outlook for the KLCI was decidedly bearish.

An investor reacts as he monitors the share index at a private stock market gallery in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. - AFP

“We advise investors to stay with defensive stocks for now and wait for the selling pressure to abate, which would be signalled by a decline in trading volume before re-entering value stocks,” it said.

Its year-end KLCI target of 1,128 factors in growing political certainty and a rebound in commodity prices towards year-end.

“Nonetheless, any upside is likely to be capped until 2Q2009 when the economy gradually recovers,” it said.

BCHB was the top gainer, up 35 sen to RM7.45, MISC-Foreign gained 30 sen to RM8.45, Tanjong and YTL added 20 sen each to RM12.60 and RM5.70.

Public Bank, Public Bank foreign and Maybank gained 15 sen each to RM9.80, RM9.90 and RM7.05 respectively.

Among the major losers were Tanjong Offshore rights shares (TgOffs-OR) which fell 16 sen to 20 sen.

Hartalega lost 20 sen to RM1.30 but with only 100 shares done while Kossan eased 10 sen to RM2.25 and Kulim five sen to RM5.35.


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