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Thursday May 15, 2008 MYT 11:58:16 AM

Sime Darby, Tenaga lift KLCI but steel stocks fall

By JOSEPH CHIN


KUALA LUMPUR: Mild buying of Sime Darby and Tenaga helped the KLCI stay in positive territory in early trade on Thursday but steel stocks, which put on hefty gains since Monday after the government liberalised the sector, retreated.

At 10am, the KLCI was up 1.97 point to 1,289.71. Turnover was 120.64 million shares valued at RM148.15mil. There were 139 gainers, 181 losers while 179 counters were unchanged and 930 counters untraded.

Asian markets were mostly higher, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index opening 73% higher to 25,719.02, Shanghai’s A Share Index added 0.91% to 3,872.54 while Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.04% to 14,265.32 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index 0.81% higher at 3,224.55.

Light crude oil was at US$123.91 per barrel while the ringgit was quoted at RM3.2640 to the US dollar.

In New York, US stocks rose on Wednesday in light trading after a modest rise in consumer prices in April cooled inflation fears, Reuters reported. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 66.20 points, or 0.52%, to end at 12,898.38.

A milder-than-expected gain in the Consumer Price Index took the edge off fears of an inflationary spurt triggered by soaring energy prices. That could allow the Federal Reserve more time to hold interest rates steady, analysts said.

At Bursa Malaysia, heavyweights Sime Darby and Tenaga advanced 10 sen each to RM6.85 and RM9.60 each. Maybank was flat at RM7.80.

JP Morgan Asia Pacific Equity Research said Maybank’s cumulative nine-months net profit of RM2.25bil was 67% and 65% of consensus and its full year forecast as further mark-to-market losses of RM165m due to revaluation of securities and derivates cut into FY08 performance.

“The cumulative year-to-date mark-to-market losses pertaining to the accounting treatment of US interest rate swaps were at RM353mil and mainly due to the cut in US rates by 200bps in the third quarter of FY08,” it said.

However, JP Morgan said the accounting loss should not surprise the market as this was already fully explained in the 2Q08 briefing.

Petronas Gas rose 20 sen to RM10.20 but with only 500 shares done. Malayan Flour added 18 sen to RM3.20 and KFC 10 sen to RM6.60. Parkson advanced 10 sen to RM6.95.

IJM rose 10 sen to RM5.85 on comments from chief executive officer and managing director Datuk Krishnan Tan’s expectations that the Ninth Malaysia Plan projects would go on despite a review.

KL Kepong rose 10 sen to RM17.50. However, United Plantations fell 10 sen to RM14.20 as investors locked in profit despite that its first quarter net profit surged 194% to RM68.96mil. Sarawak Oil Palm fell 10 sen to RM5.80.

Amway was the top loser, down 30 sen to RM6.60 while F&N gave up 15 sen to RM8.90.

Golden Plus, which came under query from Bursa Securities for unusual market activity, fell 19 sen to RM1.97.

Steel stocks retreated after three days of hefty gains, Southern Steel fell 16 sen to RM3.65, Ann Joo-WB fell nine sen to RM1.78 and the shares eight sen lower to RM4. Masteel fell seven sen to RM2.02, Lion industries five sen to RM2.81 and Leader Steel three sen lower to 93 sen.

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