Malaysia Stock Market Closes 0.28 Pct Lower On Mild Profit-Taking

KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 (Bernama) -- The Malaysia stock market (Bursa Malaysia) closed 0.28 per cent lower Wednesday, dragged down by mild profit-taking and losses in selected blue chips. The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) ended at 1,785.92, down 5.09 points, from Tuesday's close of 1,791.01. The key index opened 1.33 points lower at 1,789.68, and the movement was confined to a tight 6.73-point range of between 1,792.65 and 1,785.92 (the closing level) throughout the day. Market breadth ended negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 459 to 396, while 389 counters were unchanged, 524 untraded and 19 others suspended. Volume rose to 2.36 billion units valued at RM2.36 billion from the 2.30 billion units valued at RM2.62 billion on Tuesday. Losers in the composite index component stocks were led by Genting Malaysia Bhd, which dipped 16 sen to RM5.62, while among other top heavyweights, Genting Bhd and Public Bank shaved off 14 sen each to RM9.81 and RM20.16, respectively. Maybank and CIMB, meanwhile, shed three sen to RM9.55 and RM6.71, respectively. A dealer said Bursa Malaysia lacked fresh leads with the market turning slightly jittery over the Middle East crisis, curbing investors' risk appetite. Investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of a barrage of external events for the rest of this week, including ex-FBI chief’s impending testimony in the US, the European Central Bank’s policy decision and the UK election. "And it's common to see profit-taking after a short rally," the equity dealer said, adding that market uncertainty and short trading week next week had prompted some investors to remain on the sidelines,” he said. Among actives, FrontKen added 2.5 sen to 31.5 sen, China Automobile added half-a-sen to one sen, and Borneo Oil eased half-a-sen to 11.5 sen. FGV's share price was also in the active list, increased four sen to RM1.66 with 62.30 million shares transacted after heavy selling pressure yesterday following a boardroom tussle. -- BERNAMA