Asian stocks traded mostly in negative territory but losses were fairly limited. There was no evidence of any major selling pressure although buyers appeared to have shifted to the sidelines after rallying share prices sharply higher over the last three months. In fact, many market observers have been expecting stock markets to pull back and consolidate their recent gains. Thus, few were surprised by the prevailing ambivalent trading sentiment.Investor confidence that equities will continue to fare well in the medium term remains, by and large, intact, at least for now. Whether those expectations change will depend on upcoming economic statistics. The latest string of economic data is still a mix of good and bad news. But this is to be expected as the global economy attempts to emerge from its worst recession in decades. Wall Street closed broadly lower for the second straight day this week after a report indicated US industrial production fell by a bigger-than-expected 1.1% in May. The KL Composite Index opened on a weaker footing and stayed in the red for the better part of the morning session. Sentiment improved slightly after the break. The benchmark index clawed back part of its earlier losses to close three points lower at 1,070.9.
Market breadth was also somewhat ambivalent throughout the day. Losers outnumbered gainers in the earlier part of the day but the situation improved in the afternoon session. At the close, there were roughly six gaining stocks for every five losing ones. Some of the bigger gainers included BAT, Tanjong plc and Dataprep. At the other end, profit taking led stocks such as Genting, MPI, RHB Capital and Malaysia Airports lower. Some 1.36 billion shares were traded. Activities were centred on lower-liner stocks the likes of Scomi, KNM, Dataprep and Ramunia. 
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