Malaysian share prices closed flat on Monday, with a downward trend reversed by last minute support for blue chips, dealers said. They said the market was weaker for most of the day but last minute buying of selected blue chips pushed the 100-stock composite index back above the crucial 900 points level. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed up 0.07 points at 901.29 on volume of 334 million shares worth 677 million ringgit (178 million dollars). Losers led gainers 513 to 197. After the much anticipated revaluation of the Chinese yuan did not materialize, many investors fear that foreign funds which pushed the local bourse higher last week may now unwind their positions, dealers said.
"Judging from the last minute buying of index heavyweights, it was clear that some parties would like to see the index stay above 900 points for the time being but the broader market was weak," a dealer said. Among blue chips, Tenaga Nasional and Malayan Banking were unchanged at 10.70 ringgit and 11.70 respectively, with Telekom Malaysia down 0.25 at 9.95. Bursa Malaysia gained 0.04 to 3.90 ringgit on hopes that it will return surplus cash to shareholders, dealers said.
Malaysia International Shipping Corp rose 0.30 to 18.80 ringgit with the company's move to form a joint venture with Norway's Bergesen Worldwide viewed positively.
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