Malaysia KLCI Hits New All-Time High On Defensive Plays

25 Jun 2012

Malaysia's KLCI is last up 0.4% at 1609.50, off a new all-time high of 1611.50 touched earlier, bucking declines in most regional markets, as investors shift to defensive plays; dividend stocks and utilities are leading gainers on the KLCI, while construction counters are the biggest winners in the broader market.  "The market is going defensive, we're seeing rotational plays and foreign funds taking their money out of high beta markets such as Indonesia," says Affin Investment's head of retail research, Nazri Khan. He tips a 1620 target near term. Speculation of a national election within months is also boosting the market, says Maybank IB analyst Lee Cheng Hooi; he tips a conservative 1620-1629 resistance.  Market breadth is positive at 283 gainers against 172 losers, with 324.1 million shares changing hands. Among gainers, Tenaga Nasional (5347.KU) is up 1.5% at MYR6.80, Telekom Malaysia (4863.KU) is up 1.6% at MYR5.78 and Malaysian Resources Corp. (1651.KU) is up 1.7% at MYR1.85.