Latest news with #KualaLumpurKepong
The Star
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
FBM KLCI falls for second day on cautious sentiment
KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI gave up early gains to end lower for the second straight day on Tuesday, weighed down by cautious sentiment and the absence of fresh catalysts. The market barometer fell 5.19 points or 0.34% to close at 1,519.40, after recovering from an intraday low of 1,518.75. It had opened 1.7 points higher at 1,526.29. Stocks that fell outnumbered those that rose 412 to 591, with another 472 counters unchanged. A total of 2.82 billion shares changed hands, worth RM2.05bil. Dealers said the local bourse remains directionless as investors await clarity on tariff developments, with recent pullbacks and a lack of catalysts adding to rising volatility. They added that sentiment is likely to stay cautious in the near term as investors look for stronger leads to drive market direction. Kuala Lumpur Kepong dropped 48 sen to RM18.86, Dutch Lady fell 30 sen to RM27.10, Heineken eased 30 sen to RM23.50, and PETRONAS Gas lost 26 sen to RM17.56. Among the gainers, Nestle jumped 88 sen to RM75.96, United Plantations added 48 sen to RM22, FACB Industries gained 14 sen to RM1.60 and F&N rose 14 sen to RM28.44. On the currency market, the ringgit rose 0.09% to 4.2305 against the US dollar. However, it slipped 0.02% against the Singapore dollar to 3.3012, fell 0.38% against the euro to 4.9495, and eased 0.18% against the pound sterling to 5.7092. On the external front, Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.11% to 39,774.92, while South Korea's Kospi fell 1.27% to 3,169.94. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.54% to 25,130.03. China's CSI300 Index gained 0.82% to 4,118.96, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.62% to 3,581.86.
The Star
18-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
FBM KLCI extends gains on upbeat GDP data
KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI rose for the second consecutive day on Friday, supported by positive second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data and a mixed regional market backdrop. Malaysia's economy grew 4.5% year-on-year in the second quarter, based on official advance estimates. The FBM KLCI added 4.92 points, or 0.32%, to close at 1,525.86, trading between 1,522.97 and 1,529.52 during the session. Despite Friday's gain, the benchmark index fell 0.66% for the week. Market sentiment improved on Friday, with gainers outpacing losers by 621 to 393, indicating broader buying interest. Trading activity remained steady, with a total of 3.18 billion shares changing hands, valued at RM2.8bil. Malaysian Pacific Industries , the top gainer on Bursa Malaysia, rose 30 sen to RM19.92. Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 24 sen to RM20.40, Malayan Cement climbed 23 sen to RM5.13 and Sam Engineering gained 22 sen to RM4.22. Conversely, Dutch Lady slipped 84 sen to RM27.52, PETRONAS Dagangan fell 50 sen to RM21.20, F&N eased 16 sen to RM28.86, and Mulpha International declined 15 sen to RM3.02. Meanwhile, newly listed Enproserve Group closed up 10.42%, or 2.5 sen, at 26.5 sen, with 75.85 million shares traded. On the forex market, the ringgit rose 0.12% against the US dollar to 4.2437, but slipped 0.07% against the Singapore dollar to 3.3055. Regional markets ended the day mixed. Among the key regional indices: Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 0.21% to 39,819.11; Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 1.33% to 24,825.66; China's CSI 300 Index rose 0.6% to 4,058.55; Taiwan's Taiex added 1.17% to 23,383.13; South Korea's Kospi closed down 0.13% to 3,188.07 and; Singapore's Straits Times Index gained 0.67% to 4,189.50 points.
Focus Malaysia
09-07-2025
- Business
- Focus Malaysia
CPO prices dip on geopolitical tensions, expected to stabilise in 2026
RHB expect 2026 to be a more balanced year fundamentally, with lower year-on-year (YoY) crude palm oil (CPO) prices, but geopolitical risks will translate to more volatility. Spot CPO prices have moderated from MYR4,600-4,800/tonne in 1Q25 to a low of MYR3,780/tonne in May, only to bounce back to the current levels of MYR3,900-MYR4,100/tonne. The downward movement was mainly driven by geopolitics in the light of the US trade tariffs, wars, and crude oil prices falling, all of which pushed CPO prices in the same direction. Correlation between CPO prices and crude oil prices surged to 0.47 in Apr 2025 from -0.6 in 1Q25, and subsequently rose further to current levels of 0.68, due to raised geopolitical risks. Besides following crude oil price trends, CPO prices also followed the lead of soybean oil (SBO) prices which rose due to the recent US biofuel policy change, leading to a rise in blending targets. We expect CPO prices to remain volatile given the ever-changing geopolitical situation. Fundamentally however, global supply and demand will likely be more balanced in 2026, as supply improves, while demand should pick up given the more attractive relative prices. Supply of 17 oils and fats complex is expected to improve YoY in 2026F, coming from a partial recovery of palm, sunflower and rapeseed supplies, as well as continued growth from soybeans. Still, the stock/usage ratio of the 17 oils and fats complex is still expected to remain below the historical average of 13.6%, at 12.9% for Oct 2025/Sep 2026, albeit up from 12.7% in 2025. This leaves very little cushion in case of any short-term bullish supply or demand surprises, hence raising the risk of price volatility going forward. What does this mean for relative prices of vegetable oils and demand? Ignoring the noises from geopolitics, we expect 2026F to see: i) Muted soybean prices, due to continued strong supply in 2026F. ii) SBO prices remain supported at higher levels, due to the higher demand from increased US biofuel blending. iii) CPO prices to continue trading at a discount to SBO in the medium term (currently at USD217/tonne discount). iv) demand from price sensitive countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh come back. We revise down our CPO price assumptions to MYR4,100/tonne (from MYR4,300) for 2025 and to MYR4,000/tonne (from MYR4,100) for 2026 and 2027; but revise up our PK prices to MYR3,300/tonne for 2025F (from MYR2,800) and to MYR3,200/tonne for 2026F and 2027F (from MYR2,600). Post annual ESG review, we have made several changes to our ESG scores and rolled forward our valuation targets to 2026 (from 2025). All in, we downgraded two stocks to NEUTRAL – Kuala Lumpur Kepong (KLK) and Bumitama Agri (BAL), post earnings revision. —July 9, 2025 Main image: The
The Star
19-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Rising fears over US attack on Iran drive equities lower
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian equities tumbled in Thursday's early session, in line with the performance of regional markets as fears mounted that the US would enter the Israel-Iran conflict. At the midday break, the FBM KLCI was down 8.77 points to 1,503.18, taking the index to its lowest point in June as investors sold down heavyweights across industry sectors. The flight from equities in light of the prospect of an escalation of military action in the Middle East saw broad-based retreat in domestic equities. Declining issues outweighed advancing at a ratio of nearly 3-to-1 while market turnover stood at 1.81 billion shares for a low value of RM765.06mil. Leading the sell-off in the blue-chip index, PPB dropped 39 sen to RM9.99, PETRONAS Dagangan dropped 26 sen to RM21.10 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong shed 26 sen to RM19.76. Meanwhile, reports that US President Donald Trump had privately approved plans to attack Iran further rattled Asian markets. Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.85% to 38,554. In China, the blue-chip CSI300 dropped 0.78% to 3,844 while the composite index shed 0.86% to 3,359. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 2.02% to 23,231.
The Star
16-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
FBM KLCI ends slightly higher amid lack of catalysts
KUALA LUMPUR: The local bourse ended marginally higher on Monday, in line with regional gains, as a lack of strong catalysts kept investor sentiment subdued. The FBM KLCI ended 1.88 points higher, or 0.12%, at 1,519.99, after trading between an intraday high of 1,521.38 and a low of 1,512.26. There were significantly more decliners than gainers on the market, with 613 stocks falling compared to 321 gainers, while 509 counters remained unchanged. Total trading volume stood at 2.84 billion shares, with a value of RM2.05bil. On Bursa Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur Kepong was the day's top gainer, rising 42 sen to RM20.12. Other top gainers included Westports, which added 36 sen to RM5.03 and PPB, which gained 34 sen to RM10.98. Nestle was the top loser on Bursa Malaysia, tumbling RM1.10 to RM72.72. Ayer declined 50 sen to RM6.70, Hong Leong Financial Group fell 32 sen to RM16.04, and Carlsberg lost 32 sen to RM19.26. Meanwhile, the ringgit was quoted at 4.2448 against the US dollar, up 0.023%, but slipped 0.17% to 3.3155 against the Singapore dollar. Major indices across the region closed higher, with Japan's Nikkei 225 rising 1.26% and South Korea's Kospi climbing 1.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.7%, while China's CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite Indexes rose 0.25% and 0.35%, respectively.
