8:37 pm - Malaysian shares close sharply lower on regional selloff

Malaysian shares close sharply lower on regional selloff -

UPDATE (Adds analyst comment, share prices) KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Financial) - Malaysian shares closed sharply lower Monday as selling accelerated in the final hour of trade, after markets across Asia tumbled on worry that President Bush's 145-billion-US dollar stimulus package may not be enough to fend off a possible recession in the world's largest economy. While the recent selloff has wiped out all the gains made in the first two weeks of January, the key index's narrower losses compared to its regional peers still makes it one of the best performing bourses in this part of the world. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) closed down 30.89 points or 2.2 percent at 1,408.6. The KLCI has fallen 2.6 percent in the year to date. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia 30-large cap index lost 189.24 points or 2 percent to 9,189.03 and the FTSE second board index fell 189.01 points or 2.8 percent to 6,500.03. Decliners outpaced advancers 844 to 104, with 161 stocks untraded and 241 counters unchanged. Trading volume was 948.97 million shares, valued at 2.34 billion ringgit. "The local market is lagging its regional peers on the way down, with the downside partly mitigated by a stronger Malaysian ringgit," said Michael Lai, investment director at Fortress Capital Asset Management. "The uncertain outlook for corporate earnings will continue to weigh on Asian markets in the first half, because I think it will take that long for us to see how things will pan out in the US," said Lai. Asian markets will remain highly volatile going forward, agreed Kenny Yee, the head of research at OSK Investment Bank. "Until the situation in the US stabilizes, we can expect knee-jerk reactions to dictate sentiment within the region," said Yee. Major blue-chips led Monday's fall, with British American Tobacco, the largest cigarette maker in the country by market share, shedding 75 sen or 1.8 percent to 42.00 ringgit. Construction group MMC Corp plunged 75 sen or 7.9 percent to 8.70 ringgit and gaming group Tanjong slid 60 sen or 3.4 percent to 17.20 ringgit. Contract manufacturer Malaysian Pacific Industries fell 60 sen or 6.6 percent to 8.50 ringgit and Bumiputra-Commerce, Malaysia's second-largest banking group, lost 60 sen or 5.4 percent to 10.50 ringgit. Among other index heavyweights, Sime Darby, the world's largest listed palm oil producer, traded down 10 sen or 0.9 percent to 11.60 ringgit and IOI Corp, the second-largest palm oil stock on the local bourse, declined 15 sen or 1.9 percent to 7.85 ringgit. National power supplier Tenaga dropped 25 sen or 2.6 percent to 9.35 ringgit, state-owned Telekom Malaysia fell 10 sen or 0.9 percent to 11.30 ringgit and Maybank, Malaysia's largest bank, was down 50 sen or 4.1 percent at 11.60 ringgit. At the close, the Malaysian ringgit was quoted at 3.2830/2865 against the US dollar. The three-month interbank rates were quoted at 3.55/60 percent and the overnight rates were quoted at 3.48/50 percent. aipeng.soo@thomson.com