Malaysian share prices closed 0.70 percent lower on Wednesday due to concerns that foreign funds may be pulling out of the local market due to the weaker ringgit, dealers said. They said trading volume was low and trading in key blue chips was relatively quiet as the bourse closed down for the third straight day.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed down 9.56 points at 1,357.43. Trading volume was 1.2 billion shares, valued at 1.992 billion ringgit (586 million dollars) while losers led gainers 690 to 230. At the close, the ringgit was quoted at 3.4825/4875 against the dollar.
"Investor sentiment was pretty bearish today with decliners outpacing advancers by a bigger margin," Kok Chee Leong, a dealer with CIMB Investment Bank, said. Index heavyweights were mostly flat, with national utility Tenaga unchanged at 11.30, along with Maybank at 12.30. Telekom Malaysia gained 0.10 ringgit at 10.40.
Construction group Gamuda declined 0.25 ringgit to 8.20. Citigroup said it has kept Gamuda as a "sell" with a target price of 6.44 ringgit and that it prefers UEM World for exposure to Malaysia's rising development spending. Palm oil firms were broadly lower as Malaysia may delay a plan to commercialise palm oil-based biofuel next year.
Sime Darby, the lead company in a merger to create palm oil giant Synergy Drive, fell 0.10 ringgit to 9.75. Kuala Lumpur Kepong, one of the largest palm oil producers in the country, lost 0.10 ringgit to 13.10.