KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices on Bursa Malaysia ended on easier note today following losses in selected plantation and banking counters, dealers said.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) closed 3.26 points, or 0.208%, lower at 1,560.52, after opening 0.04 point higher at 1,563.82.

The key index moved within 1,558.94 and 1,565.25 points throughout the day.

Jupiter Securities head of research, Pong Teng Siew, said selected plantation and banking counters were down but gains in some blue-chips like Maybank Petronas Chemicals, Telekom, RHB Capital helped lift the key index to finish slightly above the 1,560-point level.

“The local bourse also saw losses in second-liners on profit-taking,” he told Bernama today.

Pong said the investor sentiment now was affected by the pressure on oil prices due to tensions in Iran and this has dampened the manufacturing, transport and consumers sectors.

The increase in oil prices may result in brittle economic growth for the regional economies, he said.

The Finance Index fell 2.029 points to 13,949.99, Plantation Index dipped 79.229 points to 8,666.20 and the Industrial Index lost 16.26 points to 2,892.04.

The FBM Emas Index declined 36.17 points to 10,819.64 and the FBM 70 Index decreased 60.641 points to 12,264.60.

The FBM Ace Index climbed 24.73 points to 4,805.24.

Losers led gainers by 541 to 302 while 298 counters were unchanged, 349 untraded and 19 others were suspended.

Among active counters, The Media Shoppe was down half sen to 11 sen, Green Ocean fell 2.5 sen to 30 sen, IFCA MSC added one sen to 14.5 sen while Green Packet-Warrant rose 4.5 sen to 25 sen.

Of the heavyweights, Maybank increased one sen to RM8.71, Sime Darby was unchanged at RM9.64, RHB Capital gained 23 sen to RM7.78 and Telekom rose 10 sen to RM5.03.

Total turnover advanced to 2.230 billion shares worth RM1.937 billion from 1.894 billion shares worth RM1.747 billion yesterday.

Volume on the Main Market rose to 1.187 billion units valued at RM1.766 billion from 1.132 billion units valued at RM1.619 billion yesterday.

Turnover on the ACE Market increased to 892.206 million shares worth RM149.281 million from 607.166 million shares worth RM104.633 million previously.

Warrants declined to 148.847 million units valued at RM20.979 million from 149.570 million units valued at RM21.818 million yesterday.

Consumer products accounted for 106.515 million shares traded on the main market, industrial products 199.938 million, construction 61.426 million, trade and services 396.533 million, technology 138.631 million, infrastructure 42.766 million, finance 66.568 million, hotels 1.597 million, properties 134.638 million, plantations 24.650 million, mining 18,000, REITs 2.323 million and closed/fund 15,000.

-Bernama