Malaysian shares slipped 0.61 percent on Thursday as heavyweight stocks fell victim to the gloomy economic outlook, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 6.44 points to 1,041.24. Declining stocks outnumbered advancers by 473 to 168.
Traders said that share volume was thin during the session as the market waited for Prime Minister Najib Razak to announce the revised economic growth forecast for 2009. Najib said that Malaysia's economy was likely to contract by 4.0-5.0 percent this year due to a steep decline in exports and manufacturing.
"We are in a technical recession because of two quarters of negative growth," he said one day after the release of data showing the economy shrank by 6.2 percent in the three months to March. Among major stocks, KL Kepong dipped 40 sen to 11.50 ringgit, Tanjong declined by 20 sen to 13.50 ringgit and Public Bank lost 15 sen to 8.60 ringgit.
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