THE benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 1.28 points, or 0.1 per cent, to close at 1,025.50, the second decline in three days.
Fifty stocks dropped and 32 gained on the 100-member measure. May index futures lost 1.5 per cent to 1,017.00.
In the market, 3.8 billion shares changed hands, four times the three-month daily average of 897 million shares, the busiest trading session since February 28, 2007.
“Regional markets succumbed to selling pressure as investors locked in profits in the absence of fresh drivers. After seven weeks of gains on the local bourse, valuations are looking stretched,” a dealer said.
“There has been a sharp rise in interest in penny-stocks and shares of companies with relatively weak fundamentals. This (pullback) could be the beginning of (a) larger correction,” the dealer added.
The dealer said the bourse could experience heightened volatility in coming days as retail players seek to unwind positions.
IOI Corp led gains among palm oil producers after stockpiles in Malaysia dropped to the lowest in almost two years in April and exports gained in the first 10 days of this month. IOI, Malaysia’s second biggest planter, gained 1.8 per cent to RM4.44, the highest close since September 24. Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd added 1.8 per cent to RM11.20, the most since April 30. Kulim Malaysia Bhd added 4.4 per cent to RM6.
JAKS Resources Bhd, a Malaysian pipe-maker, jumped 12 per cent to 65.5 sen, its highest since June 17. A newspaper reported that the company is part of a group that has been shortlisted for an RM800 million (US$229 million) contract to carry out piping work on the Pahang-Selangor interstate water project.
JAKS managing director Ang Lam Poah couldn’t be reached for comment.
KNM Group Bhd advanced 5.5 per cent to 77 sen, the highest level since October 14. The company’s stock rating was raised to “buy” from “trading buy” at OSK Research Sdn Bhd because of its “strong” order book.
Mah Sing Group Bhd climbed 4.5 per cent to RM1.85, the best close since March 4, 2008. The property developer and state asset manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd may develop projects jointly in Kuala Lumpur and the southern city of Johor Baru, a newspaper said on May 9. “Any joint venture development would need to match Permodalan’s investment criteria, as well as fit Mah Sing’s business model,” Mah Sing group chief executive officer Leong Hoy Kum, told Bloomberg News by email without saying whether the newspaper report was accurate.
Supermax Corp added 4 per cent to RM1.57, the highest since April 27. The rubber-glove maker said fiscal first-quarter profit rose 22 per cent to RM19.7 million from a year earlier. Sales advanced to RM192.4 million from RM191.5 million, Supermax said in a statement. - Agencies
Fifty stocks dropped and 32 gained on the 100-member measure. May index futures lost 1.5 per cent to 1,017.00.
In the market, 3.8 billion shares changed hands, four times the three-month daily average of 897 million shares, the busiest trading session since February 28, 2007.
“Regional markets succumbed to selling pressure as investors locked in profits in the absence of fresh drivers. After seven weeks of gains on the local bourse, valuations are looking stretched,” a dealer said.
“There has been a sharp rise in interest in penny-stocks and shares of companies with relatively weak fundamentals. This (pullback) could be the beginning of (a) larger correction,” the dealer added.
The dealer said the bourse could experience heightened volatility in coming days as retail players seek to unwind positions.
IOI Corp led gains among palm oil producers after stockpiles in Malaysia dropped to the lowest in almost two years in April and exports gained in the first 10 days of this month. IOI, Malaysia’s second biggest planter, gained 1.8 per cent to RM4.44, the highest close since September 24. Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd added 1.8 per cent to RM11.20, the most since April 30. Kulim Malaysia Bhd added 4.4 per cent to RM6.
JAKS Resources Bhd, a Malaysian pipe-maker, jumped 12 per cent to 65.5 sen, its highest since June 17. A newspaper reported that the company is part of a group that has been shortlisted for an RM800 million (US$229 million) contract to carry out piping work on the Pahang-Selangor interstate water project.
JAKS managing director Ang Lam Poah couldn’t be reached for comment.
KNM Group Bhd advanced 5.5 per cent to 77 sen, the highest level since October 14. The company’s stock rating was raised to “buy” from “trading buy” at OSK Research Sdn Bhd because of its “strong” order book.
Mah Sing Group Bhd climbed 4.5 per cent to RM1.85, the best close since March 4, 2008. The property developer and state asset manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd may develop projects jointly in Kuala Lumpur and the southern city of Johor Baru, a newspaper said on May 9. “Any joint venture development would need to match Permodalan’s investment criteria, as well as fit Mah Sing’s business model,” Mah Sing group chief executive officer Leong Hoy Kum, told Bloomberg News by email without saying whether the newspaper report was accurate.
Supermax Corp added 4 per cent to RM1.57, the highest since April 27. The rubber-glove maker said fiscal first-quarter profit rose 22 per cent to RM19.7 million from a year earlier. Sales advanced to RM192.4 million from RM191.5 million, Supermax said in a statement. - Agencies
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