KL shares end mixed

Share prices ended mixed today in line with the cautious regional and European market sentiments amid weaknesses in the economic outlook in the US and Europe, dealers said.

They said there was also weak follow-through buying interest in the market.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) finished 1.46 points lower at 1,635.98.

The benchmark index, which opened at 1,638.27, hovered between 1,622.81 and 1,639.51 throughout the trading day.

Decliners led advancers by 412 to 254, with 258 counters unchanged, 720 untraded and 24 others suspended.

Total volume declined to 802.549 shares valued at RM1.696 billion from the 878 million shares worth RM1.45 billion recorded last Friday.

Asian equities, China's Shanghai Composite fell 86.10 points to 2,273.4, Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 342.41 points to 22,537.81 and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite shed 50.15 points to 4,761.46.

RHB Retail Research said seeing that the FBM KLCI has rebounded strongly three times near the critical 1,590 support floor since January this year, there is a possibility of the index being range-bound within the 1,590-1,646 sideways zone in the next two weeks.

"The market is basically consolidating January’s about 98-pt sharp decline," it said in its research note.

HwangDBS Vickers Research said for the week ahead, investors will be processing incoming news for potential implications on the broad market or individual sectors.

"Starting the ball rolling will be the Palm & Lauric Oils Conference. This high-profile event – to be held from Monday until Wednesday – is expected to shed fresh light on the supply-demand dynamics in the oil palm industry and the latest CPO price forecasts.

"There will also be Bank Negara Malaysia’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting scheduled on Thursday amidst anticipation that the policymakers will leave interest rates unchanged," it said.

Meanwhile, the Finance Index fell 14.101 points to 15,149.85, the Plantation Index lost 14.6 points to 7,850.51 and the Industrial Index slipped 5.15 points to 2,802.29.

The FBM Emas Index rose 1.41 points to 11,145.68, the FBMT100 advanced 3.34 points to 11,001.12, and the FBM Mid 70 Index appreciated 64.4 points to 12,249.99, while the FBM Ace Index was 34.19 points lower at 3,956.22.

Among top gainers, Petronas Dagangan rose 50 sen to RM23.32, Tasek Corp Bhd-6EF added 24 sen to RM14.88 and Hong Leong Capital Bhd gained 22 sen to RM2.80.

Of the actives, Patimas Computers increased half a sen to 5.5 sen, UEM Land Holdings appreciated 10 sen to RM2.50 and Axiata Group Bhd edged up 20 sen to RM6.38.

For the heavyweights, Maybank fell five sen to RM9.05, Sime Darby dropped two sen to RM9.19 anc CIMB Group eased four sen to RM7.20.

Volume on the Main Market increased to 691.52 million shares valued at RM1.68 billion from 687.96 million shares worth RM1.43 billion last Friday.

Turnover on the ACE market dropped to 89.686 million shares worth RM9.199 million from the 168.21 million shares valued at RM17.97 million on Friday.

Warrants eased to 20.784 million units valued at RM2.086 million from the 21.5 million units worth RM1.55 million previously.

Consumer products accounted for 29.02 million shares on the Main Market, industrial products 97.34 million, construction 35.26 million, trade and services 207.903.54 million, technology 136.423 million, infrastructure 20.14 million, finance 64.63 million, hotels 869,900, properties 78.44 million, plantations 13.79 million, mining 10,600, REITs 7.68 million and closed/fund
4,000.-- Bernama