Buying of blue chips pushes KLCI up

Published: 2009/06/02

MALAYSIAN shares rose 0.17 per cent today as investors bought into blue chip stocks, dealers said.The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 1.82 points to end at 1,063.62, the highest level since September 9. Forty-seven stocks gained and 45 fell on the 102-member gauge.

June index futures slid 0.6 per cent to 1,062.00.In the market, advancers outnumbered decliners 350 to 326 and 2.1 billion shares changed hands, higher than the three-month daily average of 1.2 billion shares.Dealers said that buying appetite in banking, plantation as well as oil and gas related counters had provided support to keep the KLCI at above the 1,060-point level.

"Overall, despite the market showing signs of recovery, investors should expect a corrective decline in the near term before the uptrend is resumed in the long-term picture," said MIMB Investment Bank.MIMB Investment said that local investors may also get a boost from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's first official to China which started today.

Investors should buy oil and gas services providers such as SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd as rising crude oil spurs more exploration contracts, CIMB Investment Bank Bhd said in a report today.Scomi Group Bhd advanced 4.2 per cent to 74.5 sen, its highest since May 13. SapuraCrest added 1.4 per cent to RM1.50 while Petra Perdana Bhd surged 6 per cent to RM2.82.Astro All Asia Networks Plc fell 1 per cent to RM2.97, the first drop in 11 days.

Maxis Communications Bhd dismissed as “speculative” an analyst’s report suggesting the Malaysian mobile-phone operator may be merged with Astro. “The Maxis Board is not aware of any such proposal,” Maxis said in an e-mailed statement.Idaman Unggul Bhd, a Malaysian insurer, plunged 73 per cent to 1.5 sen, a record low.

The stock exchange gave the company five days to explain why its shares shouldn’t be delisted. The stock will be suspended from June 5 until further notice after the company failed to submit a revamp plan to the Securities Commission on time.Parkson Holdings Bhd declined 3.3 per cent to RM4.98, the steepest decline since January 20.

The company, via a unit, plans to sell 1.96 per cent of Parkson Retail Group Ltd, a Beijing-based department store chain, for HK$664 million (US$86 million). The shares are being offered at about HK$11.71 per share, according to a statement by Parkson Retail. That’s lower than yesterday’s closing price of HK$12.32. -- Agencies