KL shares close lower

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia closed on a bearish note today as renewed concerns over the eurozone debt crisis and weak economic data dampened investor sentiment globally, dealers said.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) ended 8.05 points lower at 1,583.80 after opening 6.04 points lower at 1,585.81.

Vice-President, Head of Retail Research, Affin Investment Bank, Dr Nazri Khan, said external factors such as weak economic data from China and the U.S., as well as rumours that Fitch Ratings would downgrade Spain and France's sovereign debt ratings added negative sentiments in the market.

"Internally, political uncertainties such as the Bersih rally, scheduled to be held this Saturday, have indirectly added to the weak market sentiments," he told Bernama here today.

He said the weaker performance of the local bourse was also in line with its regional peers. The Finance Index declined 38.11 points to 14,190.94, the Industrial Index lost 19.24 points to 2,843.66 and the Plantation Index slid 33.37 points to 8,764.66.

The FBM Emas Index was 53.57 points lower at 10,865.65, the FBM 70 Index fell 33.44 points to 11,962.30 and the FBM Ace Index dropped 44.54 points to 4,574.17.

Losers outnumbered gainers 581 to 199 while 291 counters were unchanged, 1,534 untraded and 20 others suspended. Total market volume improved to 1.663 billion shares worth RM1.595 billion from Friday's close of 1.631 billion shares worth RM1.475 billion.

Among the active counters, Ariantec Global rose two sen to 24 sen, Metronic Global added half-a-sen to 20 sen and Astral Supreme gained 2.5 sen to 30.5 sen.

Of the heavyweights, Maybank earned one sen to RM8.86, Sime Darby lost six sen to RM9.73 and CIMB shed five sen to RM7.50.

Main market volume increased to 838.98 million shares worth RM1.419 billion from the 791.152 million shares worth RM1.309 billion on Friday.

Turnover on the ACE market dwindled to 681.63 million shares worth RM146.74 million from 697.3 million shares valued at RM143 million previously. Warrants rose to 121.297 million units worth RM28.597 million from the 95.278 million units worth RM21.476 million last week.

Consumer products accounted for 91.42 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products 198.651 million, construction 24.284 million, trade and services 343.99 million, technology 36.93 million, infrastructure 20.02 million, finance 41.95 million, hotels 301,100, properties 51.33 million, plantations 17.45 million, REITs 2.41 million, closed/fund 28,000 and mining 54,000.

Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia said in a statement today that all it offices will be closed on May 1, in conjunction with the Labour Day holiday.

"Bursa Malaysia will resume operations on Wednesday, May 2," it added.

Shares of the following companies had unusual moves in Malaysia trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are as of the close in Kuala Lumpur.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index fell 0.5 per cent to 1,583.80, its steepest decline since March 16.

Ajiya Bhd, a supplier of building materials, climbed 1.2 per cent to RM1.70. First-quarter net income grew 8.4 per cent from a year earlier to RM4 million, the company said in a statement.

Ariantec Global Bhd, a computer services provider, advanced 9.1 per cent to 24 sen, its highest close since May 6, 2005. The stock extended its 26 per cent gain on April 20 after Samsudin Abu Hassan became a substantial shareholder in the company with a 5.3 per cent stake, according to a stock-exchange filing.

Lion Industries Corp, a steelmaker, climbed 1.5 per cent to RM1.39, the most since April 10. The stock was rated new strong buy at ECM Libra Financial Group Bhd, which said the company will benefit from growth in the country’s construction and property industries this year. The brokerage has a share price estimate of RM2.16 for the stock, Benjamin Lee, an analyst at ECM, wrote in a report today. A strong buy means the stock is expected to generate a 12-month total return including dividends of at least 30 per cent, according to the report.

M3 Technologies (Asia) Bhd, a developer of mobile content and applications, fell 3.5 per cent to 28 sen. The company plans to issue as many as 16.1 million new shares in a private placement to raise working capital, it said in an exchange filing. -- Bernama/Bloomberg