KL shares fall for second day

The benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell for a second day, losing 2.48 points, or 0.2 per cent, to close at 1,023.02, the most since April 28.

Fifty one stocks slid and 29 rose on the 102-member gauge. May index futures gained 0.9 percent to 1,024.50.

In the market, 2.2 billion shares changed hands, more than double the three-month daily average of 928 million shares.

Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Malaysia’s third biggest palm oil producer, dropped 0.9 per cent to RM11.10. Hap Seng Plantations Bhd slid 1.4 per cent to RM2.11. Kulim Malaysia Bhd fell 1.7 per cent to RM5.90. The regional plantation industry was cut to “underweight” from “neutral” at OSK Research Sdn Bhd in Malaysia, which cited a lower outlook for palm oil prices.

BSA International Bhd, an auto-parts maker, plunged 33 per cent to 4 sen, the steepest drop since April 15, after saying it failed to submit to the securities regulator a plan to restore its finances. The company’s shares will be suspended from May 15, it said in a statement yesterday. The company has been given five days to explain to the regulator why it shouldn’t be de-listed, it said.

Compugates Holdings Bhd, an electronic parts supplier, fell 13 per cent to 13 sen, the most since February 23, 2006. It was the most active stock on the Kuala Lumpur exchange with 239 million shares traded. The company had 49 million shares change hands in off-market trades valued at between 11 sen and 14.5 sen each, according to stock exchange data.

Malaysia Smelting Corp, the country’s largest tin supplier, dropped 7.1 per cent to RM2.90, the most since March 12. The company said it swung to a first-quarter loss of RM5.59 million compared with a profit of RM15.3 million a year earlier as sales tumbled 39 per cent.

MISC Bhd slid 1.8 per cent to RM8.35, the largest decline since March 30. The world’s largest owner and operator of liquefied natural gas tankers yesterday posted a 76 per cent drop in fiscal fourth-quarter profit, to RM181.9 million, after losses at its liner business.

Tai Kwong Yokohama Bhd declined 4.8 per cent to 59 sen, the most since April 27. The car battery maker said first quarter profit fell 13 per cent from a year earlier to RM1.97 million. Sales dropped to RM42.4 million from RM56.6 million, it said in a statement. - Bloomberg

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