Malaysian shares closed down 0.68 percent Thursday due to profit-taking on key heavyweights, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 7.11 points to 1,035.56 after touching a fresh 2009 high of 1,050.45. Volume was 1.49 billion shares worth 1.63 billion ringgit (466 million dollars) while losers outpaced gainers 429 to 242.
Dealers said the profit-taking was from a recent rally but plantations bucked the trend. The dealer said sentiment remained bearish on the local bourse Friday ahead of the weekend, adding that the index was expected to trade within the 1,027 and 1,041-point range. Among decliners, Maybank was down 1.9 percent at 5.20, Bursa Malaysia shed 3.6 percent to 6.80 and Tenaga lost 2.0 percent at 7.40.