FBM KLCI falls in profit-taking mode

KUALA LUMPUR: The sell-off on Wall Street overnight is expected to weigh on Bursa Malaysia as investors look ahead to US Fed chair Jerome Powell’s comments later tonight as well as the final days of the corporate results period.

At the opening bell, the benchmark FBM KLC was down 0.46 points to 1,444.21 as profit-taking emerged following the previous day’s rally.

“Stocks should extend consolidation ahead of the weekend, as investors continue to search for more solid market leads, and caution prevails amid anticipation for clues over interest rate direction from the closely followed global central bank summit in the US,” said TA Securities Research.

The Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming, which is hosted annually by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, serves as the venue of a highly anticipated speech by the Fed head that will often offer clues as to the central bank’s thoughts on policy.

Last night, US investors pre-empted potential downsides from the speech with a bout of strong profit-taking after previously shoring up tech counters on the back of Nvidia’s stellar earnings quarter.

The three major US indices lost between 1.1-1.9% overnight, with tech counters being the heaviest losers.

On Bursa Malaysia, there was strong selling action in Kuala Lumpur Kepong, falling 78 sen to RM21.62, a day after it announced disappointing quarterly earnings.

The plantations counter also announced yesterday it was proposing a 33% stake acquisition in Boustead Plantations for RM1.15bil.

Boustead Plantations meanwhile jumped 11 sen to RM1.48 as the top active counter with 421.8 million shares traded.

Meanwhile, the securities of Sime Darby and UME have resumed trading following a suspension in the afternoon session yesterday.

Sime Darby announced it was acquiring the entire 61% stake in UMW from Permodalan Nasional Bhd and making a general offer to the other shareholders in a bid to create a larger automotive player.

Sime Darby was up 10 sen to RM2.21 while UMW rose 17 sen to RM4.79.

Bank stocks also saw some trading activity as their results will be in focus over the remainig days of the corporate results period.

Maybank dropped three sen to RM9.98, Public Bank shed one sen to RM4.07, CIMB rose one sen to RM5.59 and Hong Leong Bank fell four sen to RM19.76.

Of actives, Eco world International was up 6.5 sen to 70.5 sen and YTL Power gained 19 sen to RM1.94, off the back of their respective earnings announcements.