KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Financial) - Malaysian shares closed higher on Monday,
driven by bargain-hunting in select blue chips especially among financial,
construction and mining-related stocks.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite index (KLCI) was up 11.96 points or 1.0 percent
at 1,201.02.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia 30-large cap index was up 66.28 points or 0.8
percent at 7,979.81 while the FTSE Bursa Malaysia second board index was up
41.31 points or 0.7 percent at 5,684.91.
Advancers led decliners 426 to 237, with 228 stocks unchanged and 538
counters untraded.
Trading volume was low at 513 million shares, valued at 909 million ringgit.
"The market was up on a technical rebound today (after recent losses),''
said Phua Kwee Hock, an analyst at SJ Securities. "The rising dollar and falling
gold price helped to improve investor sentiment.''
Phua said falling commodity prices will help shift funds back to equities,
while the rising dollar reflects sentiment that the US economy will soon
recover.
Expectations of favorable announcements by the government ahead of the
Invest Malaysia conference tomorrow also helped lift the market mood.
But the near-term outlook for the Malaysian market remains uncertain,
Kenanga Research said.
"The impact of the US housing woes and uncertainty in the local political
scene should continue to provide a cap on the performance of the local market in
the short term," the research house said in a client note.
Malaysia's prime minister has declared unconstitutional the appointment of a
chief minister in a northern state, in a rare showdown with the nation's royal
rulers, reports said Monday.
Terengganu is the only state that has yet to install a government chief, two
weeks after elections in which Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's ruling
coalition suffered its worst-ever results.
The KLCI has dropped by more than 8 percent since the March 8 general
elections which saw the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition lose five states and
its two-thirds majority in parliament to the opposition.
Maybank, Malaysia's largest bank by assets, was among the gainers, jumping
15 sen or 1.8 percent to 8.75 ringgit.
On Friday, Maybank said it will pay 430 million ringgit for 15 percent of
Vietnam's An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank. Maybank said it may raise its
equity interest in the Vietnamese bank to 20 percent, pending approval by the
Vietnamese government.
Bumputra-Commerce Holdings, which controls CIMB Bank, the second largest
bank in Malaysia, rallied 35 sen or 3.7 percent to 9.80 ringgit.
Mining-related stocks also posted handsome gains, with national shipping
company MISC Bhd advancing 20 sen or 2.5 percent to 8.10 ringgit and small-cap
Kencana Petroleum surging 18 sen or 13.0 percent to 1.57 ringgit.
Construction and property counters also did well, with SP Setia, one of the
largest developers in Malaysia, rallying 20 sen or 5.8 percent to 3.64 ringgit
while UEM World jumped 20 sen or 6.5 percent to 3.26 ringgit.
Among other market heavyweights, Sime Darby, the world's largest oil palm
grower, dropped 5 sen or 0.6 percent to 9.00 ringgit.
State-owned Telekom Malaysia edged up 10 sen or 0.9 percent to 10.90 ringgit
and national power utility Tenaga added 5 sen to 6.85 ringgit.
The Malaysian ringgit was quoted at 3.2070 to 3.2110 against the US dollar.
The three-month interbank rates stood at 3.61 percent to 3.62 percent while the
overnight rates were at 3.48 percent to 3.50 percent.
johnkb.tan@thomson.com
jt/zr
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