KL market recoups earlier losses

Published: 2009/06/27

Malaysian shares finished mostly higher as the market recouped some of its earlier losses driven by gains in selected blue chips, dealers said.

However, some profit-taking narrowed overall gains as investors took the opportunity to accumulate their profits ahead of the weekend.The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) rose 1.66 points to 1,075.77.

A dealer from an investment bank said the market will likely consolidate, with the composite index moving within the range of 1,065 to 1,090 next week. "The Invest Malaysia conference next week will provide clues as to whether there can be a sustainable rally in the coming weeks," he added.

"As expected, buying interest from local funds helped to prop up the market, driven partly by half-yearly window-dressing," another dealer told Dow Jones Newswires.He added that the market's uptrend may continue next week as gains were expected in oil and gas, construction and property stocks.

The Industrial Index gained 4.31 points to 2,346.57, the Technology Index gained 0.05 point to 14.44, the Plantation Index declined 2.17 points to 5,396 and the Finance Index slipped 4.68 points to 8,523.17.The FBMEmas Index gained 12.82 points to 7,211.46, the FBM30 Index went up 14.95 points to 6,905.91, the FBM2BRD Index was 3.08 points higher at 4,798.8 and the FBMMesdaq Index decreased 8.64 points to 4,116.97.

Losers outnumbered gainers 323 to 293, while 234 counters were unchanged, 376 untraded and 35 others suspended.Among actives, KNM Group declined 1.5 sen to 86.5 sen while UEM Land rose 7 sen to RM1.63.UEM Land, which reported that its sale and purchase agreement with Dubai-based developer Damac Properties has lapsed, saw considerable interest during the week.Salcon, meanwhile, rose 3.5 sen to 58.5 sen.

The share garnered some interest after its subsidiary, Salcon Engineering - a water infrastructrue specialist - reported that it was bidding for RM1.5 billion worth of projects.As for heavyweights, Maybank declined 10 sen to RM5.80, Sime Darby gained 5 sen to RM6.90, Tenaga slipped 5 sen to RM7.75 and Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings rose 15 sen to RM9.10.

Meanwhile, KLCI futures contracts on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed higher, tracking gains in share prices on the cash market, dealers said.June rose 3 points to 1,079, July gained 2 points to 1,075, September increased 2 points to 1,069 and December rose 1 point to 1,061.5. - Bernama, AFP