Asian markets retreat, KLCI dips in early trade

KUALA LUMPUR: Asian markets retreated in early trade on Tuesday, mirroring the decline on Wall Street after Bank Of America’s first quarter net profit fell 77% while light crude oil was at the record levels of US$117 (RM368) per barrel.

At 10am, the KLCI was down 2.52 points to 1,277.48. Turnover was 94.45 million shares valued at RM104.96mil. There were 96 gainers, 219 losers while 153 counters were unchanged.

Meanwhile, JP Morgan Equity Research gave its thumbs-up to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s move to speed up some of the structural reform measures necessary to ensure the nation’s progress.

The measures included a Judicial Appointments Commission; approval of a publishing permit for the PKR newspaper and a proposal by the Home Minister to review the Printing Presses and Publications Act and relax conditions for the publishing licence for newspapers to be renewed annually; and turning the Anti-Corruption Agency into a commission with an independent advisory board.

“We view the three measures highlighted above as being very positive steps taken by the ruling coalition to ensure the country is heading in the right direction. However, we believe the market is unlikely to outperform in the near term until there is greater visibility on the political situation,” it said.

Its top picks were DiGi, Genting, IGB, IJM, KNM Group and Public Bank.

In New York, US stocks eased on Monday as weak quarterly results from Bank of America Corp rekindled concerns about the toll the credit crisis has taken on banks and overshadowed rising energy shares as oil closed at a record high.

Reuters said blue chips retreated on news that Bank of America’s first quarter net profit fell 77%. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 24.34 points, or 0.19% to 12,825.

Asian markets fell, led by Shanghai A Share Index, which lost 2.47% to 3,189.87. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index opened 1.06% or 261 points lower at 24,460.64, while Japan’s Nikei 225 lost 1.07% to 13,549.74 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index eased 0.62% to 3,151.3.

BAT lost 25 sen to RM43.25 and Shell 20 sen to RM11.50.

Among plantations-related stocks, TWS fell 12 sen to RM4.98 while Sarawak Oil Palms, Batu Kawan and KL Kepong fell 10 sen each to RM5.80, RM10.80 and RM16.70 respectively. However, United Plantations added 40 sen to RM14.10.

Time and Time dotCom rose 0.5 sen each to 42.5 sen and 52 sen respectively.

Nestle was the top gainer, up 50 sen to RM30 ahead of its earnings this week. Its parent company, Nestle SA reported on Monday that global sales grew 6% to 25.7 billion Swiss francs (US$25.3bil) in Q1.

Telekom added 20 sen to RM11, Puncak 14 sen to RM3.52 while PPB gained 10 sen to RM10.80.