KL shares firmer in thin trading (28.01.09)

MALAYSIAN shares ended firmer in thin trading today amid continued nibbling at heavyweight counters, with sentiments supported by overnight gains on Wall Street, a dealer said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 6.94 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 879.63 at the 5 pm close, its biggest gain since January 22. The market was closed on January 26 and 27 for the Lunar New Year holidays.

About five stocks gained for each two that fell on the 100- member gauge. About 213 million shares changed hands, less than half the average daily volume in the past year.

Dealers said most fund managers were away on holidays. The local bourse was closed on January 26 and 27 for the Lunar New Year break.

“It is the external news that is fuelled the market today,” he said.

DiGi.Com Bhd added 20 sen, or 1 per cent, to RM20.9, its biggest gain since January 22. The Malaysian unit of Norway’s Telenor ASA expects to register high single-digit growth in revenue this year, a newspaper reported today, citing chief executive officer Johan Dennelind. The Kuala Lumpur-based company also expects a low- to mid-40 per cent earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, margin, the newspaper said.

Merge Housing Bhd rose 3.5 sen, or 6.8 per cent, to 55 sen, its biggest gain since January 15. The property developer said it slipped to a loss of RM10.3 million (US$3 million) in the second quarter ended November 30 from a profit of RM480,000 a year earlier.

Sime Darby Bhd gained 15 sen, or 2.8 per cent, to RM5.5. The palm oil producer and homebuilder said it plans to generate sales of between RM25 billion and RM30 billion over 20 years from an integrated property development across two Malaysian states. The Sime Darby Vision Valley spans 80,000 acres across Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, the company said in a statement. - Bernama, Bloomberg

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