FKLI Related News (Fri, July 19)

Stocks finished higher Thursday, with the Dow and S&P 500 setting fresh highs, boosted by a batch of upbeat economic reports and after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated that monetary policy will remain flexible, even as the central bank starts to pare back its bond buying. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 78 points to best its previous all-time high of 15,542.40 by six points. UnitedHealth and Bank of America led the blue-chip gainers. The S&P 500 also topped its previous record of 1,687.18. Most key S&P sectors closed higher, led by energy and financials, while telecoms lagged.

Bernanke returned to Capitol Hill to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on the economy and Quantitative Easing, after reassuring the markets Wednesday that there was no concrete timetable for the Fed to scale back its bond purchase program.  "Our asset purchases depend on economic and financial developments, but they are by no means on a preset course," Bernanke said in his statement to the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. Bernanke also emphasized that there could be a lengthy time-lag between the end of asset purchases and a hike in interest rates.

On the economic front, weekly jobless claims dropped by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 334,000, according to the Labor Department, to its lowest level in four months. Economists polled by Reuters expected first-time applications to fall to 345,000 last week. European shares were higher, but gains were limited by some lackluster earnings reports. In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei index hit an eight-week high, boosted by the weak yen.           [NBC News Business]

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI posted a record high at the close of trading yesterday, gaining 2.88 points to 1,791.54 on strong buying interest from retail investors, dealers said. On Bursa Malaysia, gainers almost doubled losers by 547 to 280, with 301 counters unchanged and 457 untraded, including 24 which were suspended. Turnover rose to 1.751 billion shares worth 2.744 billion.  Interpacific Securities research head Pong Teng Siew said sizeable gains in low liners that attracted retail investors to participate actively in the market helped to push the index to an all-time high at the close. “However, it is difficult for this trend to be sustained as trading  (yesterday) was mostly on the speculative buying,” he said.           [Bernama]

FKLI spot month contract opened higher this morning at 1,795 following strong buying interest from retail investors. Today’s Support and Resistance for July contract is located around 1,790 and 1,810 respectively.