Posted by admin | No Comments »

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 (Bernama) — The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) futures contracts on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives were higher at midday Friday in line with the steadier cash market, dealers said.

At noon break, the spot month October 2008 rose 12 points to 868.0, November 2008 increased 11 points to 864.5, December 2008 gained 8.5 points to 856.0 and March 2009 was 6.5 points higher at 834.0.

Volume stood at 10,370 lots while open interests was at 26,858 contracts.

The underlying KLCI was 13.43 points higher at 866.99.

– BERNAMA

Posted by admin | No Comments »

New By : IZWAN IDRIS of The Star Online

PETALING JAYA: Shares on Bursa Malaysia took another big hit yesterday, with the KL Composite Index (KLCI) plunging to a low of 801 points after trade resumed following an extended Deepavali weekend.

The benchmark, however, managed to claw back some of its early losses, helped by light bargain hunting activities on the back of a sharp rebound in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

Aseambankers in a note yesterday said a recent marketing trip to Singapore revealed that most investment funds were “pessimistic” on South-East Asian equities and were focused on North Asian markets.

At the close, the KLCI was down 26.67 points, or 3.1%, to 832.44 points. The ringgit touched 3.601 against the US dollar, before settling at 3.5815 yesterday. (see B2)

“It is still one-way traffic,” a dealer at a local brokerage said. “There are values emerging in battered quality stocks, but the market is wary about future shocks.”
(more…)

Posted by admin | No Comments »

By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 25 October 2008 0044 hrs

KUALA LUMPUR: The global economic slowdown is beginning to take a toll on the lifestyle of Malaysians in Kuala Lumpur and people are bracing themselves for difficult times.

A member of the public said: “What I heard around in the market… even they are saying things are more expensive. They are buying less, going to supermarket less and business is slowing down a bit.”

Another said: “I have cut down a lot on lifestyle expenses.”

Since the drop in global oil prices, fuel prices in Malaysia have also been cut. But some Malaysians prefer to wait for prices to come down further.

One said: “I am taking LRT to the office instead of taking the car to the office.”

The festive season in Kuala Lumpur started off with Hari Raya, followed by Deepavali, and coming next is the Christmas season. However, shopkeepers said the festive fervour of previous years was definitely not seen this time round.
(more…)

Posted by admin | No Comments »

By Leah Schnurr

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures tumbled so sharply on Friday they had to be frozen at several points as global markets tumbled on signs the global economy is in the throes of recession.

Stock markets were in freefall around the world as panicked investors moved to liquidate risky positions. Japan’s Nikkei index ended down 9.6 percent and European shares lost 8 percent.

By 7:00 a.m. in New York December Dow Jones futures were down 6.3 percent, Standard & Poor’s 500 futures were off 6.6 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 6.8 percent.

All three contracts lost the maximum amount permissible before the start of futures trading in the United States.

Both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq said trading would open as normal at 9:30 a.m EDT.

Full Article

Posted by admin | No Comments »

PETALING JAYA: The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was down 19.4 points at 871.9 during midday close on Friday.

About 358.5 million shares were traded, valued at RM601.1mil. Losers led gainers 61 to 567 while 117 counters were unchanged.

Selling was mainly led by heavyweights like Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Bhd (BCHB), IOI Corp Bhd and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK). BCHB lost 45 sen to RM6.35, IOI fell 41 sen to RM2.61 while KLK dropped 35 sen to RM7.30. Selling pressure on BCHB was exacerbated by concerns over the bank’s rising off-balance sheet commitments and contingencies amid the present global financial turmoil.

According to a Citigroup report, the actual counter-party credit risk is estimated about RM3.7bil, representing the marked-to-market derivative assets.

Full Article

Posted by admin | No Comments »

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 (Bernama) — The ringgit ended lower against the US dollar Wednesday amid signs that demand for the greenback was returning, dealers said.

They said the greenback had won back its attractiveness following the recent fall in commodity prices.

At 5pm, the ringgit was weak at 3.5450/5470 against the US dollar from the 3.5255/5285 recorded at Tuesday’s closing.
(more…)

Posted by admin | No Comments »

Kuala Lumpur (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Malaysia-based Sime Darby Healthcare, the new unit of Sime Darby Bhd (KLSE:4197) housing all its healthcare businesses under one roof, is eyeing emerging markets such as China for expansion.

Sime Darby Healthcare currently runs a medical centre, a specialist centre and a nursing college.

“Sime Darby Group is operating in over 20 countries. (So) there is opportunity for the healthcare business to establish presence in some of these countries,” supervisory committee chairman Wan Zahid Mohd Noordin said.

Source:
Business in Asia Today - Oct. 22, 2008
published by Asia Pulse

Posted by admin | No Comments »

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 (Bernama) — The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) futures contracts on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives were lower at close on Wednesday in line with the weaker underlying index on the cash market, dealers said.

October 2008 lost 21.0 points to end at 892.0, November 2008 fell 19.0 points to 887.0, December 2008 slipped 20.0 points to 880.5 and March 2009 declined 19.0 points to 861.5.

Volume rose to 9,490 lots from 7,305 lots on Tuesday while open interests increased to 23,388 contracts from 23,340 contracts previously.

On the cash market, the underlying KLCI fell by 13.88 points to close at 904.28, after opening 5.83 points lower at 912.33 this morning.

– BERNAMA

Posted by admin | No Comments »

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian crude palm oil futures soared 5.1% on Monday as strength in the crude oil market lent support to soyoil markets in the US and China, traders said.

The early rally saw prices of the tropical oil recover nearly half of the 11% losses notched up last week after fears of a global recession sparked a sell-off in commodities.

The benchmark January 2009 contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose RM83 to RM1,718 per tonne in the first half hour of trade.

“There is no fundamental basis, it’s more of a technical bounce with some broad-based gains in commodities,” said a trader with a leading foreign commodities brokerage. “Exports in Malaysia are still looking bearish, though.”

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Oct 1-20 fell 10.2% to 722,227 tonnes from 803,882 tonnes shipped between Sept 1 and 20, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Monday.

Oil extended gains by more than US$1 and hovered above US$73 a barrel on Monday, bolstered by expectations the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) could cut output at an emergency meeting this week to shore up prices. - Reuters

Posted by admin | No Comments »