The FBM KLCI fell on Monday, Sept 12 in line with the decline at most key regional markets on escalating worries of the European debt crisis situation and mounting concerns of the global economy.
The 30-stock index declined, weighed by losses at blue chip counters including Petronas-linked stocks, Genting and PLANTATION []-linked counters.
Asian stocks fell and the euro remained under pressure on Monday after the resignation of a top German European Central Bank board member cast further doubt on Europe's ability to tackle its worsening sovereign debt crisis, according to Reuters.
Juergen Stark's plan to resign from the ECB's board underscored the internal divisions over its bond-buying programme -- one of the central bank's main weapons in fighting the debt crisis by forcing down yields of country's under pressure from the bond markets, it said.
At 10am, the FBM KLCI fell 14.63 points to 1,454.49. Market breadth was negative with 312 losers, 57 gainers and 90 counters unchanged.
Volume was 122.46 million shares valued at RM103.98 million.
At the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 3.10% to 19,250.54, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.01% to 8,562.47, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was down 2.88% to 4,073.80 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 2.08% to 2,766.26.
Meanwhile, the China, Taiwan and South Korean markets were closed for the mid-autumn public holiday.
BIMB Securities Research in a note Sept 12 said fears of the still unresolved financial crisis in Greece prompted a sell down on European stocks which inadvertently affected Wall Street as well.
As a result, there was selling of equities across the board, it said.
“For Asia, we fear that regional bourses might get sucked into this current selling trend as investors are now becoming more allergic to negativities.
“Domestically we can expect some selling to emerge but envisage a lesser magnitude of decline. 1,450 remains the immediate support level for the FBM KLCI,” it said.
On Bursa Malaysia, Petronas Dagangan fell 34 sen to RM17.30, Petronas Gas 30 sen to RM13.30, PPB 28 sen to RM16.66, Genting 21 sen to RM9.56, KLK 20 sen to RM21.40, Hong Leong Bank 18 sen to RM12.02, BAT and HLFG 16 sen each to RM43.52 and RM11.36, Nestle 14 sen to RM49.30 and IOI Corp 12 sen to RM4.66.
Systech was the most actively traded counter with 9.64 million shares done. The stock declined three sen to 38 sen.
Other actives included E&O, Tejari, Timecom, Malton, TMS, Ramunia, Hubline and LBS.
Meanwhile, gainers included Shell, Kumpulan Europlus, E&O, Ark and Parkson.(theedgemalaysia.com)
Although the credit quality of the majority of Asia's utilities companies is likely to remain stable over the next 12 months, some potentially challenging issues are ahead, according to Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.
In an industry report card titled, "Outlook For Majority Of Asian Utilities Is Stable, But Some Challenges Are Ahead," released Thursday, Aug 25, S & P said electricity, gas, and water companies benefit from favorable industry factors and demographic trends that point to increasing demand for utility services in the region.
Its credit analyst Allan Redimerio said economic growth in the region was faster than the world average, and domestic populations were large with low electricity consumption and urbanisation was increasing.
Utilities companies in Japan, on the other hand, are facing tougher situations, due to the March 11 earthquake, tsunami, and the developments stemming from the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis, said Redmerio.
The potentially difficult issues ahead are the uncertain global economic growth, sustained increase in fuel costs, fuel sources and the competition for them, expansion opportunities, and the significant debt maturities and capital expenditures, he said.
"Asian utilities face significant debt maturities over the next two to three years.
"We estimate the amount averages about US$34 billion per year between 2012 and 2014 for the utilities that we rate in the region. We also think that refinancing risk is rising due to the global economic uncertainty,” he said.
Redimerio said an economic decline alone was unlikely to result in downgrades of utility companies.
Since electricity demand is not particularly elastic, declines in usage may not be as large as the overall economic contraction, he said.
“The more pressing issue is the ability of utilities to adapt to the changing economic and financial environment.
“Some countries in the region, such as Singapore, Thailand, and Philippines, rely heavily on export-driven income, and a global slowdown may affect their economic growth,” he said.(theedgemalaysia.com)
The early advance at most key regional markets was short-lived on Wednesday, Aug 24 as a one-notch cut of Japan’s credit rating grimly reminded investors that all is not well yet.
At 10am, the FBM KLCI was up 0.94 of a point to 1,483.31. Gainers edged losers by 203 to 177, while 196 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 183.47 million shares valued at RM253.34 million.
At the regional markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gave up its earlier gains and was down 0.19% to 8,716.76. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.61% to 19,754.75, Taiwan’s Taiex down 0.42% to 7,518.42, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.57% to 1,766.42, Singapore’s Straits Times Index lost 0.42% to 2,753.49 while the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.17% to 2,558.25.
Markets had started on a firmer note, as investors were encouraged by the overnight rally at Wall Street, which was spurred on by hopes of further economic stimulus in the US.
But the gains were short-lived after Moody's Investors Service cut its rating on Japan's government debt by one notch to Aa3 on Wednesday, blaming a build-up of debt since the 2009 global recession and the revolving-door leadership that has hampered effective economic strategies.
The downgrade, while not out of the blue, served as another reminder of the debt burdens that nearly all of the world's major advanced economies shoulder, according to Reuters.
The United States lost its top-tier AAA rating from Standard & Poor's earlier this month and Moody's warned in June that it may downgrade Italy.
At Bursa Malaysia, Panasonic was the top gainer at mid-morning and rose 40 sen to RM23.40; Pintaras was up 14 sen to RM2.34, Petronas Dagangan 12 sen to RM17.28, Apollo and Kossan 11 sen each to RM2.96 and RM2.89, Batu Kawan and Parkson 10 sen each to RM15.80 and RM5.70, Amway nine sen to RM9 and Kwantas eight sen to RM2.
AirAsia and MAS were actively traded and fell after both reported their results on Tuesday and said the fuel costs would impact their future earnings. Airasia fell 12 sen to RM3.50 with 6.3 million shares traded while MAS lost four sen with 4.05 million shares done.
Other actives included Tanco, Timecom, CIMB, Perdana and MUI.(theedgemalaysia.com)
Decliners g included Malayan Flour Mills, PPB, YTL Cement, KLK, GAB, MISC and JobStreet.
Key Asian markets were slightly higher in Monday's early morning trade as investors speculate that the United States Federal Reserve may come up with more stimulus policies to boost the world's largest economy, against the backdrop of the euro zone's debt crisis and recent data that indicated a global economic slowdown could hit soon.
At 10am today, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was up 0.19% to 8,735.57, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.14% to 19,620.94 and Shanghai's A share index was 0.65% higher at 2,550.86.
Singapore's Straits Times Index was up 0.56% to 2,748.95. However, the local bourse's benchmark index was 0.47% lower at 1476.98.
At Bursa Malaysia, losers overwhelmed gainers by 269 to 121 while 184 other counters were traded unchanged.
There were 137.78 million shares done with a total turnover of RM267 million.
Among the gainers were Malayan Flour Mills Bhd which was up 16 sen to RM7.67 and Spritzer Bhd which rose 13.5 sen to 98 sen.
The losers included Ann Joo Resources Bhd which fell 12 sen to RM2.42 and Hong Leong Bank Bhd which fell 18 sen to RM12.82.
At 10am today, Nymex crude oil in electronic trade was US$0.91 higher at US$83.17 per barrel.
Meanwhile, jittery investors continued to seek safety in gold and at 10am, spot gold was quoted at US$1,870.10 per ounce while spot silver was quoted at US$43.40.
The ringgit was quoted at RM2.97 to the US dollar and RM4.28 to the euro.(The Star Online)
Asian investors will get a couple of key updates in the coming week on how Japan’s recovery from the devastating March 11 earthquake is going, with Tokyo set to release some important economic data.
Japanese gross domestic product numbers for the April-June quarter are due out Monday, and while almost all economists expect the data to show a contraction, they vary widely on how bad the hit will be.
A key consideration will be whether the economy shrank more than the revised 3.5% drop in January-March period.
A Dow Jones Newswires survey yielded forecasts ranging from a 1.4% contraction to a heavy 4.7% plunge, with the median projection for a fall of 2.7%.
In June, Japan swung to a surprise trade surplus of almost $900 million after posting deficits in April and May.
So while last week’s wild swings on the global stock markets may continue to be the biggest factor for Tokyo stocks, upside surprises for the GDP and trade data could go a long way toward pushing the Nikkei Average back up.
Other highlights for the coming week include minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s last policy meeting.
And on Thursday, the market will be watching for earnings from two key Chinese blue chips: wireless provider China Mobile Ltd and computer maker Lenovo Group Ltd.
Meanwhile, Indian markets will be closed Monday for Independence Day, while South Korea will be on break that same day, in honor of National Liberation Day. (Market Watch)
Asian markets on Tuesday endured one of their most volatile days since the height of global financial crisis three years ago as margin calls forced traders to dump risky assets before bargain hunters and state investors swooped in to stem hefty losses.
Sparked by a 6.7 percent fall in the S&P 500 Index .SPX overnight and signs that global growth was sputtering, Asia stocks tanked at the open and quickly spiraled lower on indiscriminate selling.
South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 slumped close to 10 percent at one stage, its biggest slide in two years.
Some Asian mutual funds were also seen dumping shares on expectations that investors will pull out what's left of their money in an effort to preserve capital.
The rout spilled into foreign exchange, commodity and money markets, at one stage thumping the Australian dollar down as much as 3 cents versus the U.S. dollar and pushing it below parity for the first time in five months.
Japanese foreign exchange margin traders took a bath as stop loss orders hit cross rates include the Aussie/yen and South African rand/yen.
VOLATILITY RATTLES
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO, already down 11 percent over the past week, fell as much as 5.5 percent during the session before rebounding to close more than 1 percent higher.
In China, where the Shanghai Composite .SSEC ended flat after falling as much as 3.5 percent on top of a 3.8 percent fall on Monday.
Hong Kong stocks .HSI suffered their worst one-day loss, 5.7 percent, since the 2008 crisis. The moves in Hong Kong and South Korea came as stock futures saw record volume.
Not all market participants were fazed by the volatility. In Tokyo, which has endured a succession of natural and financial disasters, traders were more sanguine. (Reuters)
Asian markets generally saw a rebound in Tuesday's early morning trade, against a backdrop of uncertainty surrounding debt problems in the euro zone and United States as well as a weakening American dollar.
At 10am today, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was up 0.04% to 10,054.34, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.75% to 22,461.26 and Shanghai's A share index was 0.21% higher at 2,694.36.
However, the local bourse's benchmark index was 0.14% lower at 1,557.42 while Singapore's Straits Times Index was up 0.13% to 3,175.61.
At Bursa Malaysia, decliners outpaced advancers by 222 to 208 while 239 other counters were traded unchanged.
There were 248 million shares done with a total turnover of RM249.8 million.
Among the gainers were Petronas Dagangan Bhd which was up 32 sen to RM18.30, DRB-HICOM BHD which rose 30 sen to RM2.25, KNM Group Bhd which was up 11 sen to RM1.86 and Zecon Bhd which rose 10.5 sen to 58.5 sen.
The losers included Tenaga Nasional Bhd which fell 8 sen to RM6.14 and ACE Market-listed Catcha Media Berhad which slipped 6.5 sen to 62.5 sen.
At 10am today, Nymex crude oil in electronic trade was US$0.05 higher at US$99.25 per barrel.
Spot gold was quoted at US$1,614.15 per ounce.
The ringgit was quoted at RM2.96 to the US dollar and RM4.27 to the euro.(The Star Online)
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