KL shares extend advance mid-afternoon

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia extended the advance at mid-afternoon today on strong interest in selected heavyweights
and lower liners, dealers said.

As
at 3.16pm, the barometer index, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM
KLCI), surged 9.26 points to 1,778.42, after opening 3.83 points higher
at 1,772.99.

Dealers said the sharp rally in share prices on regional markets was mainly among US and Japanese stocks.

This, they added, was due to an exuberant consumer sentiment and





improved economic outlook in the US, which in turn impacted the mood on the local bourse today.

However,
analysts are expecting profit-taking to set in after the strong market
advances last week when the FBM KLCI breached a record high of 1,788.43
on May 14, as political risk eased after the general election.

The
Finance Index surged 99.189 points to 16,848.2, the Plantation Index
rose 56.01 points to 8,285.31, and the Industrial Index gained 15.61
points to 3,040.06.

The FBM Emas Index perked 107.92 points to 12,380.10 and the FBMT100 soared 90.01 points to 12,144.51.

The FBM Mid 70 Index perked 213.819 points to 14,305.81, while the FBM Ace Index jumped 131.96 points to 4,811.37.

Gainers led losers 750 to 162 with 206 counters unchanged, 481 untraded and 17 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.951 billion shares worth RM1.641 billion.

Among
actives, Luster Industries gained two sen to 17.5 sen, Daya Materials
rose 2.5 sen to 27 sen, Iris Corporation added two sen to 22 sen, and
Trinity Corporation earned half-a-sen to 6.5 sen.

For the
heavyweights, Maybank gained eight sen to RM10.10, CIMB Group rose 11
sen to RM8.44, and Axiata Group added two sen to RM6.93, while Sime
Darby Group was unchanged at RM9.50.-- Bernama