Fund buying pushes FBM KLCI higher at midday

MALAYSIAN shares extended positive gains to midday today, taking the cue from Wall Street's strong overnight performance, dealers said.Persistent fund buying interest was seen in selected heavyweights while retail investors focused mostly on lower liners and penny stocks, the dealers added. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index rose 10.52 points, or 1 per cent, to 1,090.15 at the 12:30 pm local time break, set for the highest close since June 15. Only three stocks fell on the 30-member measure. July index futures added 0.9 per cent to 1,091.00.
Boustead Holdings Bhd rose 2.1 per cent to RM3.96, set for the biggest gain since June 1. Sime Darby Bhd, Malaysia’s largest palm-oil producer, added 1.4 per cent to RM7.30, the highest since August 5.
IJM Plantations Bhd climbed 2 per cent to RM2.62, the most since July 6.
Malaysia’s palm oil exports rose 18 per cent in the first 15 days of July compared with the same period the previous month, according to independent surveyor Intertek. Palm oil futures in Malaysia climbed for a second day, gaining 3.1 per cent, set for the biggest increase since June 25.KNM Group Bhd, Malaysia’s biggest listed oil and gas services provider, rose 7.3 per cent to 80.5 sen, on course for the largest gain since June 1. Petra Perdana Bhd advanced 4.6 per cent to RM2.76 and Dialog Group Bhd added 3.7 per cent to RM1.12.

Crude oil rose, snapping three days of declines, as stocks advanced and an industry report showed a drop in gasoline inventories in the US, the world’s largest energy consumer. Malaysian Airline System Bhd, the national carrier, climbed 2.1 per cent to RM2.97, on course for the largest increase since July 1. MASKargo, which carries Malaysian Airline System’s freight, expects cargo volume to start recovering in 2010 after a 28 per cent contraction in the first half of 2009, a newspaper reported. Demand from China, the company’s biggest market, has bottomed out after falling more than 30 per cent in the first six months of the year, the newspaper reported, citing Mohd Yunus Idris, general manager of business development and sales at MASKargo.

Naim Holdings Bhd added 1.1 per cent to RM1.93, bound for the highest level since July 3. The Malaysian builder said it has set up a unit in Brunei to undertake engineering, construction and property works. SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd, the Malaysian oil and gas services provider, rose 2.6 per cent to RM1.61, headed for the highest level since June 12. SapuraCrest has partnered with GE Oil & Gas, a unit of General Electric Co, to expand the Malaysian company’s service center to meet demand for the refurbishment, maintenance and repair works of gas turbines, the Business Times reported, citing a joint statement.