Market ends firmer

Stock markets around the region were modestly firmer on Friday, April 9 recovering from Thursday’s sell-off as investors returned with selective buying interest.

Wall Street’s overnight gains – a reversal from earlier opening losses amid positive retail sales data helped divert investor attention from the problems in Greece, which prompted the Thursday sell-off in equities and the euro.

Investors were also earlier worried about the pace of the recovery in Japan, where data showed core machinery orders, a key indicator for capital spending, fell 5.4% month-on-month in February 2010, compared with expectations for a 3.9% rise.

Nonetheless, investors took heart from data showing record US monthly retail sales, which investors hope will foreshadow higher consumer spending ahead – which is needed to sustain the current manufacturing-led recovery.

Top US retail chains posted a record rise in monthly same-store sales for March, helped by an early Easter holiday, better weather conditions, an improving job market and a weak base last year. Same-store sales rose 9.1% in March, the largest monthly jump since records started in 2000 and ahead of estimates for a 6.3% rise.

While recent US economic data has turned more positive, investors are also weighing between growing signs of a more sustainable recovery, and stock price valuations that may have already priced that in after the strong rally for over a year.

The local market rose modestly on Friday, with the FBM KLCI gaining 1.1 points to end the day at 1,334. The broader market fared considerably better, with advancers beating decliners by a 1.8-to-1 ratio on volume of 1.25 billion shares.

Actively traded stocks include Talam, Scomi, SAAG, Time dotCom, Kencana, KNM and JAKS. Major gainers include Tan Chong, MISC, SunCity, Hai-O and HELP. Losers include PPB, Petronas Gas, Kossan and Pos Malaysia