Prices mixed on positive sentiment

Published: 2009/09/12

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia ended mixed yesterday amid improved investor sentiment as firm buying on CIMB Group, British American Tobacco and Tanjong kept the main index in positive territory, dealers said.

However, the broader market was relatively thin as profit-taking emerged following recent sharp gains.

At close, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI) rose 0.6 per cent or 7.0 points to 1,208.28.

The FBMEmas climbed 34.70 points to 8,122.77, the FBM Top 100 went up 40.12 points to 7,914.50 and the FBM70 advanced 17.78 points to 7,982.34 but the FBM ACE Index dropped 39.82 points to 4,079.74.

The Finance Index surged 147.67 points to 9,849.89, the Industrial Index gained 5.29 points to 2,639.67 and the Plantation Index was 1.86 points higher at 5,954.38.

Decliners led advancers 365 to 283 while 255 counters were unchanged and 350 others untraded.

Volume was lower at 516.916 million shares worth RM925.929 million compared with Thursday's 649.288 million shares worth RM1.252 billion.

"The FBM KLCI, which bounced to a 14-month high mid-week, prompted some profit taking in the broad market. However, overall sentiment remained generally positive," one dealer said.

The bullish sentiment was buoyed by better-than-expected industrial production index for July which suggested the economy was recovering.

Positive gains in regional stock markets and the steadier overnight close on Wall Street also lent support to the local bourse, he added.

Topping the list of active counters was KNM Group which shed half-a-sen to 72 sen with 23.519 million shares transacted. Of other actives, Talam Corp slipped half a sen to 8.5 sen, Genting Singapore (C) lost 4.5 sen to 32.5 sen, SAAG Consolidated was unchanged at 24.5 sen and CIMB Group climbed 42 sen to RM10.94.

British American Tobacco was the biggest gainer, surging RM1.00 to RM46.00, and Yeo Hiap Seng was the biggest loser, coming off 21 sen to RM1.22.

Among heavyweights, Tanjong increased 30 sen to RM15.92, Public Bank rose 16 sen to RM10.30 and DiGi rose six sen to RM21.40.

The FBM KLCI futures ended on a positive note, dealers said. The September 2009 and October 2009 contracts went up 4.5 points each to settle at 1,210.5 and 1,210 respectively. December 2009 contract surged 4.5 points to 1,207.5 while March 2010 was up 3.5 points to 1,201.5.

Volume was 3,606 lots, down from Thursday's 6,699 lots while open interests increased to 16,570 contracts from 15,628 contracts previously. - Bernama