MALAYSIAN closed down 0.68 per cent today due to profit-taking on key heavyweights, dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 7.07, or 0.7 per cent, to close at 1,035.56, the biggest decline in a week.
Two stocks dropped for each that rose on the 102-member measure. May index futures slid 1.2 per cent to 1,029.00.
SJ Securities head of research Phua Kwee Hock said the market was in for a correction despite putting up resistance at the 1,051-point level.
He said the correction trend was likely to continue with the US heading for a long weekend for the Memorial Holiday on May 25.
Phua also said that the US dollar was likely to weaken due to the US Federal Reserve's downgrade of the country's outlook.
"This is a crucial information as it will impact the markets. So far, the global equities markets haven't had a correction yet. If the US dollar continues to fall, it would be good for the global market," he said.
In the market, 1.5 billion shares changed hands, higher than the three-month daily average of 1.1 billion shares.
Genting Bhd, Asia’s biggest listed casino operator, climbed 0.8 per cent to RM4.92, the highest level since May 12. The company and its Resorts World Bhd. unit bought a combined US$100 million of secured notes sold by MGM Mirage, a Las Vegas-based operator of hotels and casinos. The investment will generate an “attractive return” with yields of more than 10 per cent, the companies said in separate statements.
Kian Joo Can Factory Bhd slid 2.5 per cent to RM1.15, the largest drop since May 13. Malaysia’s biggest aluminum can producer said first-quarter profit fell 18 per cent to RM11.9 million (US$3.4 million) from a year earlier. It said in a statement that sales dropped to RM187.5 million from RM198 million; and earnings this year will be “affected” by the global economic downturn.
Malayan Banking Bhd , Malaysia’s largest bank, dropped 1.9 per cent to RM5.20, the steepest decline in more than a week. The bank may book RM1.84 billion in writedowns at units in Indonesia and Pakistan after the global financial crisis slashed asset values, OSK Research Sdn Bhd said.
MMC Corp, a Malaysian independent power producer and the country’s largest port operator, fell 1.1 per cent to RM1.82, the biggest decline since May 12. The company may report a second drop in quarterly profit as the economic slump cuts shipping and electricity demand, OSK Research Sdn Bhd said.
Earnings will suffer from reduced activities at MMC’s main Tanjung Pelepas port in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, the research company said, without providing an estimate on quarterly figures.
Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd dropped 3.8 per cent to RM1.28, the biggest decline since April 13. The Islamic insurer said it had a loss of RM7.7 million in its fiscal third quarter, compared with a profit of RM7.1 million a year earlier. Sales dropped 33 per cent to RM187.7 million, it said in a statement.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 7.07, or 0.7 per cent, to close at 1,035.56, the biggest decline in a week.
Two stocks dropped for each that rose on the 102-member measure. May index futures slid 1.2 per cent to 1,029.00.
SJ Securities head of research Phua Kwee Hock said the market was in for a correction despite putting up resistance at the 1,051-point level.
He said the correction trend was likely to continue with the US heading for a long weekend for the Memorial Holiday on May 25.
Phua also said that the US dollar was likely to weaken due to the US Federal Reserve's downgrade of the country's outlook.
"This is a crucial information as it will impact the markets. So far, the global equities markets haven't had a correction yet. If the US dollar continues to fall, it would be good for the global market," he said.
In the market, 1.5 billion shares changed hands, higher than the three-month daily average of 1.1 billion shares.
Genting Bhd, Asia’s biggest listed casino operator, climbed 0.8 per cent to RM4.92, the highest level since May 12. The company and its Resorts World Bhd. unit bought a combined US$100 million of secured notes sold by MGM Mirage, a Las Vegas-based operator of hotels and casinos. The investment will generate an “attractive return” with yields of more than 10 per cent, the companies said in separate statements.
Kian Joo Can Factory Bhd slid 2.5 per cent to RM1.15, the largest drop since May 13. Malaysia’s biggest aluminum can producer said first-quarter profit fell 18 per cent to RM11.9 million (US$3.4 million) from a year earlier. It said in a statement that sales dropped to RM187.5 million from RM198 million; and earnings this year will be “affected” by the global economic downturn.
Malayan Banking Bhd , Malaysia’s largest bank, dropped 1.9 per cent to RM5.20, the steepest decline in more than a week. The bank may book RM1.84 billion in writedowns at units in Indonesia and Pakistan after the global financial crisis slashed asset values, OSK Research Sdn Bhd said.
MMC Corp, a Malaysian independent power producer and the country’s largest port operator, fell 1.1 per cent to RM1.82, the biggest decline since May 12. The company may report a second drop in quarterly profit as the economic slump cuts shipping and electricity demand, OSK Research Sdn Bhd said.
Earnings will suffer from reduced activities at MMC’s main Tanjung Pelepas port in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, the research company said, without providing an estimate on quarterly figures.
Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd dropped 3.8 per cent to RM1.28, the biggest decline since April 13. The Islamic insurer said it had a loss of RM7.7 million in its fiscal third quarter, compared with a profit of RM7.1 million a year earlier. Sales dropped 33 per cent to RM187.7 million, it said in a statement.
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