BURSA MALAYSIA: KL Shares Ease On Technical Correction

Trading on Bursa Malaysia closed lower Wednesday on technical correction after rallying for three weeks, dealers said.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI) declined 5.74 points, or 0.484 percent, to close at 1,180.54.It opened 0.98 point higher at 1,188.98 in the morning. The FBM KLCI moved between 1,178.51 and 1,187.96 throughout the day.

An analyst said the market was weighed down by heavyweights like DiGi, BAT and Maybank due to continuous sell-off that dragged it into negative territory. He said the decline was also in line with the softer regional markets following the overnight slump on Wall Street.

"Financial stocks are under pressure today as investors turn defensive and up their purchase on consumer stocks," he said, adding that local investors continued to stay on the sidelines to await positive news.

Meanwhile, MIMB Investment Bank said the market was undergoing correction due to the short-term overbought position. "Any correction can bring FBM KLCI to anywhere between 1,100 and 1,160, while support level is expected to hold at 1,160 and resistance at 1,200," it said in its research note.

The Finance Index fell 99.98 points to close at 9,634.56, the Industrial Index declined 8.26 points to 2,596.23 and the FBMEmas Index lost 52.28 points to 7,996.2. The Plantation Index, however, increased 34.74 points to 5,828.5.

The FBM Top 100 decreased 43.38 points to 7,755.57.The FBM ACE Index was 65.26 points higher at 4,163.12.Decliners outnumbered advancers by 528 to 207 while 190 counters were unchanged and 334 untraded.Turnover fell to 1.103 billion shares valued at RM1.739 billion from 1.155 billion shares valued at RM1.643 billion yesterday.

Actively traded stocks include KNM, SCOMI, MRCB, JOTECH, SAAG, COMMERZ, AXIATA, PWORTH, TA and LCL. Trading volume declined to 1.11 bil shares worth RM1.74 bil as compared to Tuesday's 1.17 bil shares worth RM1.65 bil.

Lagging Movers were MAYBANK (-22 sen to RM6.55), GENTING (-16 sen to RM6.05), GENTING MALAYSIA (-7 sen to RM2.79), AXIATA (-2 sen to RM3.14) and RHB CAPITAL (-19 sen to RM4.69). Leading Movers were COMMERZ (+10 sen to RM10.80), IOI (+5 sen to RM5.17), KLK (+18 sen to RM12.96), PETRONAS GAS (+12 sen to RM9.88) and UMW HOLDINGS (+5 sen to RM6.27). Market breadth was negative with 529 losers as compared to 207 gainers.