MALAYSIA'S benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index eased 0.49, or 0.1 per cent, to close at 1,023.4. Forty-two stocks rose and 40 dropped on the measure.
Dealers said trading was heavy with a volume of 3.36 billion shares — a 26-month high — worth 2.42 billion ringgit (691 million dollars).
“Profit-taking in blue chips and index-linked issues outweighed gains in retail favoured penny stocks and small-caps,” one dealer told Dow Jones Newswires.
“Investors opted to lock in gains ahead of the official results from the US government’s stress tests on banks,” the dealer added.
The dealer said the rise in volume “clearly underscores bullish market sentiment but there is an equally strong possibility of a strong retracement on any negative leads from the US banking sector.”
The dealer said the rise in volume “clearly underscores bullish market sentiment but there is an equally strong possibility of a strong retracement on any negative leads from the US banking sector.”
Dealers said the bourse would trade in the 1,000 to 1,030 points range tomorrow with pre-weekend selling potentially paring any gains.
Among decliners, Axiata lost 3.4 per cent to RM2.30, Sime Darby fell 1.5 per cent to RM6.60 and IJM Corp was down 1.9 per cent at RM5.05.
On the upside, Bumiputra-Commerce added 2.9 per cent to RM8.98, Bursa rose 2.9 per cent to end at RM7.05, while Petra Perdana gained 13.9 per cent to RM2.22 after crude oil futures rose above US$57 a barrel for the first time this year. Scomi Group Bhd. gained 10 per cent to 54.5 sen and Wah Seong Corp. added 4.1 per cent to RM1.78.
Kinsteel Bhd., Malaysia’s second-biggest steelmaker, advanced 3.7 per cent to 70.5 sen, capping a six-day, 32 per cent advance. Maybank Investment Bank Bhd. raised its stock rating to “buy” from “fully valued”, saying demand will rebound as building construction gains momentum. - Agencies
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