KL shares end firmer, buoyed by Wall St

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia ended on a firm note today, in line with the stronger close on Wall Street and European
markets overnight, dealers said.

On
Wall Street, the key US equity indices rose between 2.9 per cent and
3.2 per cent at the close, buoyed by better-than-expected housing starts
report.

At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 19.81 points to 1,484.98.

The
dealers said the gain was bolstered by upbeat economic data from US and
Europe, adding that the positive external vibes had also spilled over
to Asian bourses today.






Gainers led losers by 405 to 307 while 336 counters were unchanged
and 433 others untraded. Turnover rose to 1.655 billion shares worth
RM1.321 billion from 1.642 billion shares worth RM738.23 million
yesterday.

The Finance Index rose 187.03 points to 13,267.64,
Plantation Index added 58.76 points to 7,907.88 and the Industrial Index
increased 12.45 points to 2,662.82. The FBM Emas Index gained 119.94
points to 10,170.46, FBM Mid 70 Index firmed 87.03 points to 11,164.47
and the FBM Ace Index soften 13.19 points to
4,066.39.

Among
active counters, The Media Shoppe-Ord Rights was unchanged at half sen, 1
Utopia Bhd declined one sen to 8.5 sen and Hibiscus Petroleum-Warr
11/14 inched up 6.5 sen to 52 sen.

In heavyweights, Maybank rose 13 sen to RM8.37, Sime Darby added one sen to RM9 and CIMB Group appreciated five sen to RM6.95.

Volume on the main market rose to 944.79 million shares valued at
RM679.44 million from 810.38 million shares valued at RM886.46 million yesterday.

Turnover
on the ACE market appreciated to 551.18 million units worth RM482.041
million from 358.76 million units worth RM27.98 million previously.

Warrants
fell to 213.914 million shares valued at RM31.818 million from 335.96
million shares valued at RM30.32 million Tuesday. Consumer products
accounted for 109.028 million shares traded on the main market,
industrial products 158.702 million, construction 51.324 million, trade
and services 210.688 million, technology 65.5 million, infrastructure
16.211 million, finance 57.15 million, hotels 1.025, properties 61.340
million,
plantation 18.507 million, mining 15,000, REITs 6.593 million and closed/fund 104,200. -- Bernama