Monday, May 23, 2011

Selling pressure picks up on Bursa, broader market weakening

KUALA LUMPUR: Selling pressure accelerated after the midday break on Monday, May 23, with recent top performers giving up some gains, led by Tradewinds, HLFG and HL Bank while key Asian markerts reported losses of between 1.2% and 3%.

Worries about euro-zone debt sapped demand for riskier assets such as Asian stocks and prompted investors to shift funds into U.S. government debt, gold and the dollar, Reuters said.

At 3.16pm, the FBM KLCI was down 10.4 points to 1,530.63. Turnover was 547.50 million shares done valued at RM751.67 million. Losers beat gainers more than four to one, with 580 losers to 142 gainers.

Among key Asian markets, China's main stock index dropped 3% on Monday, extending losses to three-and-half month lows, as tightening liquidity hit financials and small caps. The Shanghai Composite Index was down at 2,772.04, its lowest since early February.

The Hang Seng index fell to 22,728.4, with losses accelerating as weakness on the mainland markets deepened. The benchmark Nikkei closed down 1.5% at 9,460.63, hitting its lowest level in five weeks, while the broader Topix shed 1.2% to 817.68.

At Bursa Malaysia, BAT fell the most, down 50 sen to RM45.50, Tradewinds 44 sen to RM10.04 and KLK 36 sen to RM21.64 while Hap Seng gave up 23 sen to RM5.09. MISC lost 21 sen to RM6.82 and Genting 18 sen to RM11.

Among the banks, HLFG lost 38 sen to RM11.18 and HL Bank 22 sen to RM11.82, making them the worst performers on the top 10 list of decliners.

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