Malaysian shares down

Malaysian share prices closed 0.4 percent lower on Wednesday amid lacklustre trade and thin volumes, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index dropped 3.81 points to close at 856.37 on a volume of 363.04 million shares worth 598.27 million (165.36 million dollars). There were 212 gainers, 275 losers and 225 unchanged.
"A mixed performance on Wall Street, poor domestic corporate results and a general reluctance to commit to fresh investments kept the market in the red," a dealer told Dow Jones Newswires. "Government-linked funds helped the index bounce off its lows and close above 850 (psychological level) but a poor showing on Wall Street tonight (Wednesday) may result in this support level being taken out tomorrow," he added.
Among decliners, Bank Bumiputra-Commerce fell 4.1 percent to 5.85 ringgit while power giant Tenaga shed 1.6 percent to 6.10 ringgit. Among gainers, telecommunications giant Telekom rose 4.9 percent to 3.0 ringgit with Public Bank rising 0.6 percent to hit 8.40 ringgit.