KLCI ends 0.9pc higher

MALAYSIAN shares ended higher today on bargain-hunting on heavyweights, especially the plantation stocks, said dealers.

They said, however, the gains were capped by losses in key heavyweight, Sime Darby.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 9.7, or 0.9 per cent, to 1,045.26 at the 5pm local time close, the highest since September 10.

Sixty-five stocks gained and 21 fell on the 102-member gauge. The measure gained 3.1 per cent this week.

Jupiter Securities head of research, Pong Teng Siew, said the market was at its strongest and was one of the best performers in the region, crediting the large-capitalised stocks for it.
"The second- and third-liners were not really moving so it shows that the retail players are more cautious after the big run. They are buying in a restraint manner," he said.

Phua said the market was now focusing on commodity and has been "ignoring a bit of the Dow" with concerns on the "Perak state issue faded into the background".

"There were some foreign funds in the market. I can't be sure if they are here for the long term or just opportunistic buying. But it certainly helps," he said.

Hume Industries (Malaysia) Bhd, a manufacturer of building materials, tumbled 2.6 per cent to RM2.96, the biggest drop since May 7.

Hume reported a second quarterly loss of RM20.8 million
in the three months ended March 31 as sales slid 37 per cent to RM118.5 million.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd dropped 1.1 per cent to RM3.76, the lowest close since May 5. Telekom, which spun off its mobile-phone business, said today profit from continuing operations tumbled 76 per cent in the first quarter to RM27.7 million from a year earlier, hurt by foreign-currency losses on its borrowings. The outlook this year remains “challenging,” chief financial officer Bazlan Osman said in a phone interview today.

TSH Resources Bhd, an oil palm planter, added 2.3 per cent to RM1.79, the highest since May 13. The company plans to buy land in Indonesia to increase its land bank in the country by as much as 20,000 hectares (49,420 acres) a year, the Business Times newspaper reported, citing Managing Director Tan Aik Sim.

YTL Cement Bhd jumped 4.2 per cent to RM3.50, the highest close since August 11. The cement maker said fiscal third-quarter profit gained 13 per cent to RM51.4 million from a year earlier. Sales climbed 29 per cent to RM485.8 million, it said after the market closed yesterday. - Bernama, Bloomberg

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