Markets weaken, Tenaga down

Written by Joseph Chin
Thursday, 27 August 2009 13:11

KUALA LUMPUR: All key Asian markets were in negative territory at the midday break on Aug 27, with Japan's Nikkei 225 the worst performer while at Bursa Malaysia, some mild selling of Tenaga weighed down the FBM KLCI.At 12.30pm, the 30-stock FBM KLCI fell just 0.67 points to 1,171.89.

Turnover was 282.25 million shares valued at RM372.9 million.The broader market showed some signs of weakness as declining stocks beat advancers nearly two to one. There were 349 losers, 186 gainers and 202 stocks unchanged.Light crude oil fell 22 cents to US$71.21 while crude palm oil futures fell RM6 to RM2,351.

Among the major regional markets, the Nikkei 225 slumped 1.57% to 10,472.59 after the Nikkei average hit a 10-month closing high the previous day, with exporters losing steam and caution setting in ahead of national elections on Sunday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.38% to 20,197.99; Singapore's Straits Times Index 0.3% lower at 2,620.19 while Shanghai Composite Index eased 0.43% to 2,954.91.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan dropped 0.2%. It has lost roughly 3% since hitting an 11-month high earlier this month amid investor worries that share prices have run too far ahead of economic fundamentals. At Bursa, Nestle 20 sen to RM33.80, Tenaga fell 10 sen to RM8.

Tomei was the top loser, down 25 sen to 55 sen, Lafarge 18 sen to RM6.32 and Chin Tek 10 sen to RM7.20.Winsun was the most active with 23.6 million shares done, easing one sen to 8.5 sen. MPHB rose two sen to RM2.09 in active trade.Measat was the top gainer, adding 20 sen to RM1.95, EON Cap 15 sen to RM5.21, YTL Cement 13 sen higher to RM4.16 and Petra 10 sen higher to RM2.59.