KL Shares Ease At Mid-Afternoon

Published: 2009/03/10


MALAYSIAN shares closed down 0.4 per cent today as stocks narrowed losses after the government unveiled a RM60 billion (US$16.2 billion) stimulus package, dealers said.The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 2.97 points to 855.25.Dealers said continued concerns over the economy have affected market sentiments, especially in the crucial financial sector, adding that the downtrend was in line with the regional sentiment after the overnight fall on Wall Street.

However, the second stimulus package presented by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak late this afternoon is expected to help the market perform better.

Losers led gainers by 319 to 171 while 183 counters were unchanged, 572 untraded and 31 others suspended. Volume rose to 372.025 million shares worth RM785.163 million compared with last Friday''s 282.249 million shares worth RM469.576 million.

Finance stock Public Bank lost 50 sen to RM7.50 after CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets downgraded the bank citing weak capital position and unattractive valuations.Hong Leong went down 14 sen to RM4.42, BIMB Holdings declined 1.5 sen to 80.5 and AMMB Holdings decreased two sen to RM2.43.Among the actives, MRCB rose 1.5 sen to 83 sen while KNM and Telekom were flat at 36.5 sen and RM3.50 respectively.

Among the heavyweights, Sime Darby increased five sen to RM5.55, Tenaga rose 10 sen to RM6.20, TMI went down five sen to RM5.50, and YTL Corp edged up five sen to RM6.95. - AFP, Bernama