Malaysian shares erased some of their initial losses but still ended 0.3 percent down on Friday, as investors took profit on blue chips like power firm Tenaga after the market hit a 4-1/2-year peak on Thursday. The key Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed 2.8 points down at 917.17, off an intraday low of 914.61. It had opened higher, helped by another drop in oil prices, climbing to an early high of 920.56.
Malaysia International Shipping Corp rose as much as 1.4 percent after announcing the sale of 32 bulk vessels. The stock ended up 0.7 percent at 14.60 ringgit.
MISC said late on Thursday it had agreed to sell the vessels to a unit of Greece's Restis group for $740 million as it focused on more lucrative energy business.
MISC, the world's largest carrier of liquefied natural gas, said it would book a gain of $440 million from the sale. Top lender Maybank and power utility Tenaga both fell nearly one percent, accounting for almost half of the main index's decline.
Maybank fell 0.8 percent to 11.80 ringgit while Tenaga dropped 0.9 percent to 11.30 ringgit.