New from the market front. Green zone maintained

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the market is still hovering within green territory.

The FBM KLCI closed in green territory on Wednesday session amid negative external sentiment. The benchmark index was up 0.10% or 1.66pts to close at 1,598.10 with gainers led by PMETAL, SIMEPLT and KLK.

Overall market breadth was negative with decliners trouncing gainers 607 to 406. Total volume stood at 3.23bn shares valued at RM3.69bn.

Key regional indices retreated on the sanctions over Russia. The Nikkei 225 lost 1.68% to end at 26,393.03, HSI declined 1.84% to end at 22,343.92, SHCOMP down 0.13% to end at 3,484.19 and STI erased 0.88% to end at 3,249.94.

Foreign market

Wall Street rebounded as US Fed said will raise interest rate this month with steady pace. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.79% to end at 33,891.35, S&P 500 gained 1.86% to end at 4,386.54 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.62% to end at 13,752.02.

Wall street staged a relief rally despite the intensifying conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The DJI Average ended almost 600 points higher while the Nasdaq jumped by 220 points.

As the situation on Wall Street remains fluid, the US 10-year yield closed near the 1.9% again. On the home front, the FBM KLCI ended slightly higher from some muted bargain hunting activities.

“For today, we anticipate the index to hover around the 1,595-1,610 range as foreign funds continue to accumulate on local equities.

“Meanwhile, profit taking saw the crude palm oil price down to RM7,839/tonne while the Brent crude surged past US$112/barrel as global demand is shunning Russian oil,” says Rakuten.