KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB was among the heavyweights that pulled the local market into the red in Wednesday morning trade as news surfaced that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group was divesting its entire 4.56% stake in the banking group.
At midday break, the counter was down 12 sen to RM6.34.
The FBM KLCI was 3.4 points lower at 1,773.26. The broader market recorded turnover of 1.5 billion shares for a total value of RM993.73mil. There were 316 decliners, 252 advancers and 473 counters unchanged.
Asian markets were a mixed bag even as Wall Street continued to hit new records as investors waited for the outcome of the Federal Resevrve meeting later in the day.
The US central bank is expected to announce when it will begin paring its bond holdings, and while a September interest rate increase is not expected, investors will closely study Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s views on inflation for clues to whether the Fed will raise rates in December, Reuters reported.
On the FBM KLCI, banks were mixed with Maybank up four sen to RM9.85, Hong Leong Bank up eight sen to RM15.96, Public Bank down two sen to RM20.58, RHB unchanged at RM5.13 and AMMB unchanged at RM4.49.
Telcos were down with Maxis declining six sen to RM5.70, Digi down two sen to RM4.84, Axiata down three sen to RM5.03 and Telekom down three sen to RM6.37.
Plantations went lower with IOI down two sen to RM4.63, KL Kepong down six sen to RM24.44, Sime Darby down two sen to RM9.16. Genting was up four sen to RM9.88. Reuters reported on Wednesday that palm oil may fall into a range of RM2,760 to RM2,787 per tonne, as it could have temporarily peaked around a resistance at 2,885 ringgit.
British American Tobacco
slipped 10 sen to RM44.10 and Westports went higher to four sen to RM3.85.
KESM led market gains, rising 80 sen to RM15.86 on its higher-than-expected earnings results released yesterday. This represented the 11th consecutive quarter of consecutive growth for KESM with its core earnings jumping due to a negative tax charge.
Ajimoto continued to add to gains over previous sessions, rising 58 sen to RM21.48. Nestle rose 20 sen to RM85.20.
Among the losers, United Malacca Plantations fell 20 sen to RM6.58 and its earnings results came in below expectations. Padini fell 11 sen to RM4.34.
Oil prices rose on Wednesday after Iraq's oil minister said OPEC and other crude producers were considering extending or even deepening a supply cut to curb a global glut, while a report showed a smaller-than-expected increase in US inventories, Reuters reports.
WTI Crude was up 0.57% to US$49.76 per barrel while Brent Crude went 0.38% higher to US$55.34.
On the forex, the ringgit traded weaker against major currencies, fallig 0.04% against the dollar at 4.193, 0.23% against the pound sterling at 5.6657 and 0.17% against the Singapore dollar at 3.1143.
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