KLCI ends 0.1pc down

MALAYSIA'S Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell for a second day, losing 1.06, or 0.1 per cent, to close at 1,071.79.

Thirty-nine stocks rose and 32 dropped on the 102-member measure. June index futures climbed 0.7 per cent to 1,072.50.

In the market, 1.4 billion shares changed hands, higher than the three-month daily average of 1.3 billion shares.

SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd added 3.3 per cent to RM1.57, the highest level since May 14, 2008, on speculation gains in crude oil will boost the prospects for new contracts.

Scomi Group Bhd added 1.3 per cent to 75.5 sen. Crude oil gained in New York, snapping two days of losses, after a late-day rally in US stocks spurred by Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman’s prediction the recession will end by September.

Dialog Group Bhd rose 5 per cent to RM1.26, the highest close since August 4. Its target price was increased to RM1.62 from RM1.52 at RHB Research Institute, which said the company’s plan to build a deepwater storage terminal at a cost of more than US$1 billion will boost earnings.

Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd, Malaysia’s largest cement maker, gained 3.8 percent to RM5.50, the fourth- best performer on the benchmark Composite Index. Investors should buy cement producers such as Lafarge before construction projects accelerate next year, Maybank Investment Bank Bhd. said.

“Lafarge’s dominant position in the cement market places it at the forefront of the sector recovery,” Maybank said in the report.

Malaysian Bulk Carriers Bhd, a shipping group, fell 1.2 per cent to RM3.28, the lowest close since May 29. The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities, slid 4.3 per cent yesterday, its third consecutive decline. The index has fallen 15 per cent since June 3.

Melati Ehsan Holdings Bhd jumped 4.8 per cent to 76 sen, the highest level since Jan. 22. The Malaysian construction company said it won a RM54.8 million ringgit contract to design and build a Carrefour hypermarket in Cheras, Selangor state. - Bloomberg

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