Bursa surpasses psychological 1,400-point level

Tuesday August 24, 2010

Bursa surpasses psychological 1,400-point level

PETALING JAYA: The local bourse surpassed the key 1,400-point level to close 0.58% higher at 1,403.15 on selective buying of blue-chip stocks in the latter part of the trading day by funds as better-than-expected corporate results at home outweigh the lack of fresh leads from abroad.

Analysts were convinced that the benchmark index would face resistance at that level after a spate of macro news which heralded a gloomier second half.

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd became the largest bank after its market capitalisation exceeded that of Malayan Banking Bhd’s (Maybank) yesterday.

CIMB’s market capitalisation stood at RM58.06bil compared to Maybank’s RM57.61bil. CIMB’s share price rose 22 sen to RM7.92 while Maybank’s added 1 sen to RM8.14.

Among other actively traded counters, Genting was up 11 sen to RM8.72, PPB added 40 sen to RM17.36 and TM was three sen higher at RM3.58.

However, investors remained cautious as reflected in the broader market, with 465 counters down compared to 291 gainers while 270 counters were traded unchanged.

Volume was relatively low at 805.11 million shares traded with a total value of RM1.33bil.

The local bourse bucked the trend in the region, where Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost two-thirds of a per cent to 9,116.69, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.44% to 20,889.01 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index was 0.36% lower at 2,925.99.

Meanwhile, the Aussie dollar faced selling pressure after a federal election over the weekend failed to deliver a majority to either incumbent prime minister Julia Gillard nor opposition leader Tony Abbott.

Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was little change, shedding 0.4%.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/24/business/6907184&sec=business