Market Close KLCI falls 0.6% amid regional losses

Business & Markets 2013
Written by Chong Jin Hun of theedgemalaysia.com
Thursday, 23 May 2013 17:14
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KUALA LUMPUR (May 23): The FBM KLCI pared losses, ending 10.82
points or 0.6% lower after falling as much as 1% earlier. The decline
came amid major losses across Asian markets.
The regional rout was in anticipation that US policy makers may reverse
the world's largest economy's monetary easing earlier than expected.
Investors had also reacted to China's weak factory data.
At 5pm, Malaysia’s KLCI settled at 1,773.06 points on losses in stocks
like GENTING BHD [] and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. The index had
earlier fallen to an intraday low of 1,765.62 at 2.34pm, Bloomberg data
show.
Across Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 7.32% while Hong Kong’s Hang
Seng declined 2.54%. Nearer to home, Singapore's Straits Times was
down 1.85%.
Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd research head Chan Ken Yew said
regional stock market losses and the KLCI's overbought technical
dynamics could have led to the latter's decline.
Chan said investors in the KLCI might have found "an excuse" to take
profits following gains in the benchmark after the general election in
Malaysia.
"Regional factors could have played a big role today," Chan told
theedgemalaysia.com over telephone.
Across Bursa Malaysia, 2.14 billion shares worth RM2.96 billion were traded. There were 160 gainers versus 808 decliners.
The top gainer was BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (M) [] Bhd while DELEUM BHD [] led decliners. The most-active stock
was LUSTER INDUSTRIES BHD [].