Share prices on Bursa Malaysia opened mixed Friday on mild buying demand as most investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays despite gains in other regional bourses, dealers said.
As at 9.16 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,667.78, down 2.82 points, after opening 3.51 points lower at 1,667.09.
Regionally, sentiments were broadly positive due to the bullish Wall Street overnight performance following the better-than-expected US economic data.
The world's largest economy grew at 3.1 per cent annual rate in the third quarter, higher than previously reported.
Back home, the Finance Index rose 0.88 of a point to 15,246.2 but the Industrial Index slipped 3.87 points to 2,736.21 and the Plantation Index declined 19.94 points to 8,052.39.
The FBM Emas Index fell 16.43 points to 11,300.1, the FBMT100 eased 18.14 points to 11,158.66 and the FBM Mid 70 Index lost 16.36 points to 12,168.25.
The FBM Ace Index, however, increased 16.05 points to 4,217.48.
Gainers led losers 89 to 73, with 109 counters unchanged, 1,375 untraded and 25 others suspended.
Volume stood at 45.193 million shares worth RM25.409 million.
Among actives, Oversea Enterprise garnered three sen to 15.5 sen, Opensys was up one sen to 13.5 sen and Sumatec inched up half-a-sen to 20 sen.
MAS lost one sen to 73 sen and Scomi shed half-a-sen to 36 sen while Karambunai was flat at 12 sen.
Heavyweights, Axiata and Maxis rose one sen each to RM6.69 and RM6.57, respectively, and Public Bank earned six sen to RM16.10.
CIMB lost four sen to RM7.64 but Maybank was flat at RM9.05. Bernama
The ringgit was traded lower against the US dollar in the early session Friday as investors shifted demand to the greenback as the US economy grew in the third quarter, dealers said.
At 9.20 am, the ringgit was pegged at 3.0600/0630 against the US dollar from yesterday's 3.0535/0565 close.
The greenback received a boost after the US economy expanded by 3.1 per cent in the third quarter, driven by exports, government and consumer spending.
On the local front, the ringgit was traded mixed against other major currencies.
The local currency fell against the Singapore dollar to 2.5055/5084 from Thursday's close at 2.5035/5066 but rose against the Japanese yen to 3.6346/6395 from 3.6360/6409 yesterday.
The local unit, however, weakened against the British pound to 4.9713/9774 from yesterday's 4.9674/9735 close but appreciated against the euro to 4.0368/0419 from 4.0389/0431 Thursday. Bernama
NYSE Euronext agreed to sell itself to rival IntercontinentalExchange Inc. for about $8.2 billion, in a deal that would end more than two centuries of independence for the New York Stock Exchange.
The deal would create the largest trans-Atlantic operator of derivatives and equity exchanges and an enlarged platform for an expected rush of new business as regulators push the huge over-the-counter trading market to operate through exchanges. It would present a formidable competitor to larger, but less-diversified peers such as CME Group Inc. and Germany's Deutsche Börse AG.
While regulatory resistance has sunk prior attempts at big mergers, the ...
Journalists attend Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual news conference in Moscow. (Kirill Kudryavtsev / Agence France-Presse / Getty Images)
By Sergei L. Loiko
December 20, 2012, 9:11 a.m.
MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin on Thursday further distanced his government from Syria's leader, saying Russia would not back Bashar Assad's regime "at any price" and recognized the need for a change in the Middle Eastern nation.
"We are not concerned with the fate of Assad's regime," Putin said during his annual news conference in Moscow. "We understand what is going on, given that the [Assad] family has been in power for 40 years and that the need of change is certainly on the agenda."
Putin said the Kremlin's "position is not to back Assad and his regime in power at any price." However, he said that the Syrian conflict needed to be resolved by negotiation.
"I think agreements based on a military victory are out of place here and cannot be effective," Putin said, adding: "What will happen there primarily depends on the Syrian people themselves."
Russia, along with Iran, has been one of the Assad government's few dependable international allies. However, there has been a change of tone in recent comments from Moscow.
On Dec. 13, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said the rebels might succeed in ousting Assad, a public acknowledgment that surprised international observers. The Russian government sought to backtrack the next day, insisting the diplomat was merely characterizing the views of Syrian rebels, not stating Moscow's position.
The changing tone in Moscow reflects frustration on the part of the Kremlin, said one analyst.
"Obviously the Kremlin tried to assert its influence recently to compel Assad make some compromises in his unwavering stand based on violence and military pressure and even start some negotiations and make some other steps toward reconciliation, but to no avail," said Andrei Kortunov, president of New Eurasia Foundation, a Moscow-based think tank, in an interview Wednesday.
"That certainly rubbed Putin the wrong way, and the Russian leader is having a hard time hiding his irritation with Assad," Korutnov said.
"The time is working against Assad, and Moscow increasingly understands that the longer the civil war goes the less chances Assad has to come out victorious," Kortunov added. "The Kremlin's rhetoric we heard today in regard to Assad was unthinkable just a few months ago."
AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd (ACSB) emerged among the top gainers in the early session of trading on Bursa Malaysia this morning, after posting bullish financial results yesterday.
The company, which is involved in the business of credit, surged 12 sen or 0.99 per cent to RM12.20 at 10.26 am, after hovering between RM12.12 and RM12.20.
The company's pre-tax profit surged by 41.5 per cent to RM129 million for the nine months ended Nov 20, 2012 from the RM91.16 million recorded in the same quarter of last year.
This was due to continued growth in business coupled with an improved cost efficiency from sharp growth in receivables in the year and lower ratio of net impairment.
Revenue for the period reviewed jumped by 34.2 per cent to RM335.44 million from RM249.99 million previously.
HwangDBS Vickers Research said the results were within its expectations, led by robust loan growth in personal and vehicle financing.
It expects the strong growth in vehicle, general and personal financing to continue, with the credit cards business moderating, as a result of Bank Negara's tighter lending guidelines for credit cards issuance.
The research house has maintained its "hold" recommendation on ACSB with higher target price of RM11.30 against RM9.80 previously.
"This is based on 9.5 times calendar year 2012 earnings per share as we roll forward our valuation base to 2014.
"We expect the strong loan and earnings traction to continue, but current valuation which is more than +2SD (standard deviation) above its mean, has priced in the positives," it said. Bernama
In line with its business expansion plans, Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) is eyeing several big property projects in
Sarawak, including the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sarawak's new campus.
Its President and Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Ahmad Zaini Othman said MBSB, with five sales and service centres in Sarawak, had the necessary expertise and experience to provide property financing services to big scale property undertakings.
"The high level of confidence and trust placed in us by depositors, especially in Sarawak, certainly bodes well for the company's expansion plans," he added.
He was speaking at the "An exclusive Moment with MBSB" appreciation dinner here last night.
UiTM Sarawak's new 404-hectare campus in Kota Samarahan, is expected to accommodate another 4,000 students, in addition to the existing facility. Its permanent campus in Mukah, scheduled for completion in October 2015, will accommodate 2,000 students.
Ahmad Zaini is confident of the strong business potential in Sarawak for the company, having opened its first branch in the state in Kuching, 13 years ago.
For the first nine months of this year, he said, MBSB achieved a record profit before tax of RM410 million, which was a 26 per cent increase of RM83 million, compared to the RM327 million achieved for the same period last year.
He added that a strong growth in deposits at an annual average of 21 per cent for the last three years was also recorded.
MBSB, whose largest investor is the Employees Provident Fund(EPF), has 36 sales and service centres and 12 representative offices nationwide at present. Bernama
NEWTOWN, Connecticut | Wed Dec 19, 2012 11:26am EST
(Reuters) - The White House was set to reveal the first steps of a gun-control plan on Wednesday as the United States grieved for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in another wave of funerals.
The funerals scheduled for Wednesday included those for four children, a teacher and the principal of the Connecticut school stormed by 20-year-old gunman Adam Lanza on Friday. After killing his mother at home, Lanza drove to the school and used a semi-automatic assault rifle to kill 20 children and six women.
Vice President Joe Biden will lead an effort to craft policies to reduce gun violence in a plan President Barack Obama was to lay out on Wednesday morning.
Obama was not expected to unveil policy decisions, but to outline how his administration will proceed, White House aides said. The move could signal that he will make the issue a second-term priority and add momentum to a national debate over tighter gun-control laws.
Obama has turned to Biden in the past to take a role in high-profile initiatives, including efforts on a deficit-reduction compromise with congressional Republicans in 2011.
The massacre of so many children, all of whom were just 6 or 7 years old, shocked the United States and the world and renewed debate over gun control in a nation where the right to bear arms is protected by the Constitution and fiercely defended by many.
Around the globe, newspaper editorials from the Philippines to South Africa urged U.S. gun-control efforts and said they were long overdue.
"It takes no great deductive genius to understand the link: a violent individual with a gun will be more able to kill, and can kill more people, than a violent individual without a gun. Elsewhere in the world, tighter gun laws have been shown to save lives," said an editorial in India's The Hindu newspaper.
After the shooting spree at the school in Newtown, Connecticut, Lanza killed himself.
The family of the school's principal, Dawn Hochsprung, invited mourners to visit at a local funeral home on Wednesday afternoon, though her burial was due to be private at an undisclosed time.
Another of the teachers, Victoria Soto, was among those to be buried on Wednesday.
Funerals were also scheduled for 6-year-old Charlotte Bacon, 7-year-old Daniel Barden and 6-year-old Caroline Previdi, while the family of 7-year-old Chase Kowalski invited mourners to a public visitation and prayer vigil.
The surviving children from Sandy Hook Elementary faced another day at home as school authorities and parents made plans for an eventual return to a different location - the unused Chalk Hill School in nearby Monroe, where a sign across the street read, "Welcome Sandy Hook Elementary!"
At Sandy Hook itself, well-wishers and mourners have left tributes such as candles, flowers and stuffed animals. A heavy rain that fell most of Tuesday had soaked many of them and extinguished some of the candles, leaving a smell of burned wax in the air as police continued their investigations inside.
They have said the investigation could take months and have revealed nothing yet about Lanza's motive.
Well-wishers came to Newtown from as far afield as Iowa. Beth Howard said she had driven 17 hours from Eldon, Iowa, to see what she could do to help. She joined a group of people from New Jersey who decided to bake pies for residents of the town to show their solidarity and support.
"It has already made the trip worthwhile," said Howard, describing the smiles she got from local residents.
The first of many funerals was held on Monday and two children were laid to rest on Tuesday. Most of the town's schools reopened on Tuesday, but there was no immediate word on when the Sandy Hook students would be back in the classroom.
The impact of the shooting was felt in the business world on Tuesday when private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP said it would sell its investment in the company that makes the AR-15-type Bushmaster rifle that was used by Lanza.
The powerful gun-industry lobby, the National Rifle Association, broke its silence on Tuesday for the first time since the shootings, saying it was "shocked, saddened and heartbroken" and was "prepared to offer meaningful contributions" to prevent such massacres.
The NRA uses political pressure against individual lawmakers and others to press for loosening constraints on gun sales and ownership across the United States while promoting hunting and gun sports.
The group, which said it had not commented until now out of respect for the families and to allow time for mourning and an investigation, plans a news conference on Friday.
The massacre prompted some Republican lawmakers to open the door to a national debate about gun control, a small sign of easing in Washington's entrenched reluctance to seriously consider new federal restrictions.
(Additional reporting by Greg Roumeliotis, Edith Honan, Dan Burns, Patricia Zengerle, David Ingram, Chris Francescani; Writing by Claudia Parsons; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and David Brunnstrom)
Robert H. Bork, whose failed Supreme Court nomination in 1987 infuriated conservatives and politicized the confirmation process for the ensuing decades, died Wednesday at the age of 85.
The former Yale law professor and judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had a history of heart problems and had been in poor health for some time.
But Bork was a towering figure for an early generation of conservatives. In the 1960s and '70s, he argued that a liberal-dominated Supreme Court was abusing its power and remaking American life by ending prayers in public schools, by extending new rights to criminals, by ordering cross-town busing and by voiding the laws against abortion.
He was an influential legal advisor in the Nixon administration and served as a footnote to history in the Watergate scandal. When the embattled president ordered the firing of special counsel Archibald Cox, the attorney general and his deputy resigned in protest. Bork, who was in the No. 3 post as U.S. solicitor general, then carried out Nixon's order.
But Bork's biggest moment came during the Reagan administration in the 1980s. He left Yale and came to Washington when Reagan appointed him to the U.S. court of appeals in the District of Columbia. The job was seen as a steppingstone to the high court.
In 1986, Bork was passed over for a younger colleague when Reagan named Judge Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court. A year later, Bork's turn came when Justice Lewis Powell, the swing vote on the closely divided court, announced his retirement.
Democrats, led by Sen. Edward Kennedy, launched an all-out attack on Bork's nomination, saying he would set back the cause of civil rights, women's rights and civil liberties.
The summer of 1987 saw campaign-style attacks on Bork's reputation. In televised hearings, the bearded, heavy-set professor tried to explain his views, but he won few converts. The Senate defeated his nomination by a 58-42 vote.
In his place, Reagan eventually chose Judge Anthony Kennedy, who was confirmed unanimously. The switch proved to have lasting consequences. Kennedy cast decisive votes to uphold Roe vs. Wade and to preserve the ban on school-sponsored prayers.
Bork stepped down from the bench a year after his defeat, but wrote several books renewing his criticism of liberalism. In the past year, he served as a chairman of Mitt Romney's advisory committee on the judiciary and the courts.
NEW YORK: US stocks rallied Tuesday amid optimism that Washington was serious about reaching a deal on the "fiscal cliff."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 115.57 points (0.87 per cent) at 13,350.96 in closing trade.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 16.43 points (1.15 per cent) to finish at 1,446.79. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 43.93 points (1.46 per cent) to close at 3,054.53.
"Stocks took solace in what appeared to be a step up in the pace of fiscal cliff negotiations," said analysts with Charles Schwab & Co.
President Barack Obama and top Republican John Boehner have stepped up negotiations in recent days in an apparent effort to avert the so-called fiscal cliff -- a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts set to take effect in January.
Apple rose 2.9 per cent. South Korean competitor Samsung said Tuesday it would drop a legal request to ban Apple products in five European countries.
But on Monday, a US judge denied Apple's request to ban a set of Samsung smartphones from the US market after a jury found the South Korean electronics titan guilty of patent infringement.
Google stock was flat at US$721.07 in the wake of word that the European Union will seek an accord with the Internet search giant to resolve anti-trust concerns.
Media audience ratings service Nielsen increased 4.4 per cent after announcing it will buy Arbitron for US$1.26 billion in cash to expand its radio ratings. Arbitron soared 23.6 per cent.
ConocoPhillips, which said it was selling its Algerian business unit, gained 1.8 per cent.
Gunmaker Smith and Wesson Holding Corporation stock dropped roughly 10 per cent amid a US gun control debate sparked by a shooting in Connecticut Friday that saw 27 murdered -- including 20 children -- and shocked the nation.
Another gun maker, Sturm Ruger, lost 7.7 per cent. -- AFP
NEWTOWN, Conn. Family members have gathered for the first of eight funerals for school shooting victims to be held at a Catholic church in Newtown, Conn.
A motorcade of dozens of vehicles led by police motorcycles accompanied the family of 6-year-old James Mattioli to St. Rose of Lima on Tuesday. His funeral comes a day after two other 6-year-old boys were laid in the first of a long, almost unbearable procession of funerals.
Margarita Rosniak and her 10-year-old daughter, Charlotte, watched from the sidewalk as people entered the church. They had traveled from California for a Christmas vacation in New York and came to Newtown to join the residents in their grief.
Clutching her daughter close, Margarita Rosniak spoke of sympathizing with the parents. Her daughter says she plans to do a school project on the massacre. She asks, "What was the point of it? They're just little kids."
Meanwhile, a funeral for another of the 20 innocent children killed - 6-year-old Jessica Rekos - was also scheduled for Tuesday. Her family says she loved horses and had just asked Santa for new cowgirl boots and a cowgirl hat, CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston reported.
Security remained high, and the small, affluent Connecticut community was still on edge as the rest of the country prepared for the Christmas holidays.
"There's going to be no joy in school," said 17-year-old P.J. Hickey. "It really doesn't feel like Christmas anymore." But he added, "This is where I feel the most at home. I feel safer here than anywhere else in the world."
In a sign of investors distancing themselves from gun makers, private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management announced it would sell its stake in major arms manufacturer Freedom Group. It said in a statement, "It is apparent that the Sandy Hook tragedy was a watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level."
The mystery of why a smart but severely withdrawn 20-year-old, Adam Lanza, shot his mother to death in bed before rampaging through Sandy Hook Elementary, killing 20 children ages 6 and 7, was as deep as ever.
Sandy Hook Elementary will remain closed indefinitely.
Investigators say Lanza had no ties to the school he attacked, and they have found no letters or diaries that could explain why he targeted it. He forced into the school shortly after its front door locked as part of a new security measure. He wore all black and is believed to have used a Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle, a civilian version of the military's M-16. Versions of the AR-15 were outlawed in the U.S. under the 1994 assault weapons ban, but the law expired in 2004.
Debora Seifert, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said both Lanza and his mother fired at shooting ranges and visited ranges together.
At the White House on Monday, spokesman Jay Carney said curbing gun violence is a complex problem that will require a "comprehensive solution." He did not mention specific proposals to follow up on President Barack Obama's call for "meaningful action."
New York City's billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg, perhaps the most outspoken advocate for gun control in U.S. politics, again pressed Obama and Congress to toughen gun laws and tighten enforcement.
"If this doesn't do it," he asked, "what is going to?"
At least one senator, Virginia Democrat Mark Warner, said Monday that the attack has led him to rethink his opposition to the ban on assault weapons. And West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat who is an avid hunter and lifelong member of the powerful National Rifle Association, said it's time to move beyond the political rhetoric and begin an honest discussion about reasonable restrictions on guns.
In Newtown on Monday, minds were on mourning.
Two funeral homes filled for Jack Pinto and the youngest victim, Noah Pozner, who turned 6 just two weeks ago..
A rabbi presided at Noah's service, and in keeping with Jewish tradition, the boy was laid to rest in a simple brown wooden casket with a Star of David on it.
"I will miss your perpetual smile, the twinkle in your dark blue eyes, framed by eyelashes that would be the envy of any lady in this room," Noah's mother, Veronique Pozner, said at the service, according to remarks the family provided to The Associated Press. Both services were closed to the news media.
Noah's twin, Arielle, who was assigned to a different classroom, survived the killing frenzy.
At 6-year-old Jack Pinto's Christian service, hymns rang out from inside the funeral home, where the boy lay in an open casket.
In the middle of town, an ever-growing memorial has become a pilgrimage site for strangers who want to pay their respect.
One man told CBS Station WCBS why he visited: "Because I'm a dad with four beautiful daughters, when I found out it broke my heart. It's hard to sleep, I don't know how to feel."
Authorities say Lanza shot his mother, Nancy, at their home and then took her car and some of her guns to the school, where he broke in and opened fire. A Connecticut official said the mother, a gun enthusiast who practiced at shooting ranges, was found dead in her pajamas in bed, shot four times in the head with a .22-caliber rifle.
Lanza was wearing all black, with an olive-drab utility vest with lots of pockets, during the attack.
As investigators worked to figure out what drove him to lash out with such fury -- and why he singled out the school -- federal agents said he had fired guns at shooting ranges over the past several years but that there was no evidence he did so recently as practice for the rampage.
Debora Seifert, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said both Lanza and his mother fired at shooting ranges, and also visited ranges together.
"We do not have any indication at this time that the shooter engaged in shooting activities in the past six months," Seifert said.
Investigators have found no letters or diaries that could explain the attack.
Whatever his motives, normalcy will be slow in revisiting Newtown.
Classes were canceled district-wide Monday, though other students in town were expected to return to class Tuesday.
Dan Capodicci, whose 10-year-old daughter attends the school at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, said he thinks it's time for her to get back to classes.
"It's the right thing to do. You have to send your kids back. But at the same time I'm worried," he said. "We need to get back to normal."
Gina Wolfman said her daughters are going back to their seventh- and ninth-grade classrooms tomorrow. She thinks they are ready to be back with their friends.
"I think they want to be back with everyone and share," she said.
Newtown police Lt. George Sinko said whether to send children to school is a personal decision for every parent.
"I can't imagine what it must be like being a parent with a child that young, putting them on a school bus," Sinko said.
The district has made plans to send surviving Sandy Hook students to Chalk Hill, a former middle school in the neighboring town of Monroe. Sandy Hook desks that will fit the small students are being taken there, empty since town schools consolidated last year, and tradesmen are donating their services to get the school ready within a matter of days.
"These are innocent children that need to be put on the right path again," Monroe police Lt. Brian McCauley said.
With Sandy Hook Elementary still designated a crime scene, state police Lt. Paul Vance said it could be months before police turn the school back over to the district.
The shooting has put schools on edge across the country.
Anxiety ran high enough in Ridgefield, Conn., about 20 miles from Newtown, that officials ordered a lockdown at schools after a person deemed suspicious was seen at a train station.
Two schools were locked down in South Burlington, Vt., because of an unspecified threat. A high school in Windham, N.H., was briefly locked down after an administrator heard a loud bang, but a police search found nothing suspicious.
House Speaker John A. Boehner said Tuesday that he will introduce legislation — opposed by Democrats— to raise taxes only on households earning $1 million or more, as a backup plan for avoiding the "fiscal cliff" if his attempts to forge a broader spending agreement with the White House fail.
Negotiations between Boehner and President Obama have made significant progress in recent days, with Boehner agreeing to the idea of raising tax rates on the wealthiest Americans, and Obama saying he could accept tax increases for households earning $400,000 or more per year. That threshold is a concession from the president's campaign pledge to raise rates on those earning at least $250,000, but it remains unacceptable to many Republicans.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd (BMMB) posted a gross financing of RM10.1 billion for its first half ended Sept 30, 2012.
The achievement is a milestone in the bank's history and was equivalent to a 24.9 per cent growth, year-on-year.
Its pre-tax profit during the first half stood at RM120.2 million, almost reaching its previous full-year performance of RM123.5 million, due to greater contribution from its operating income and continued improvement in collection and recovery, said Bank Muamalat in a statement.
"Our consumer portfolio accelerated faster than what we anticipated despite being in a competitive market.
"Similarly, our asset quality has continued to further improve from our last reporting in June 2012," said Chief Executive Officer Datuk Mohd Redza Shah Abdul Wahid.
The bank's total net income rose to RM496.4 million for the half year under review underpinned by higher financing income.
Bank Muamalat's total assets increased to RM18.2 billion, as at end-September, growing almost 19 per cent from a year ago.
Customer deposits rose to RM16.0 billion from RM13.1 billion previously. Bernama
Share prices on Bursa Malaysia opened higher this morning led by gains in selected bluechips prompted by the overnight uptrend in Wall Street, dealers said.
After 15 minutes of trading, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was 0.41 per cent or 6.67 points better at 1,655.25 after opening 1.91 points higher at 1,650.49.
Axiata rose 11 sen to RM6.65, Petronas Gas gained 12 sen to RM18.60 and KLK was 14 sen better at RM21.60.
HwangDBS Vickers Research said US' equity indices rose 0.8-1.3 per cent on Monday, mainly due to investors' speculation and optimism on signs of progress on the looming "fiscal cliff", arising from discussions in the White House.
On the local front, the research house expected the FBM KLCI to likely trade sideways without any fresh leads while the downside would be limited by its immediate resistance level of 1,635.
In a note, HwangDBS said two stocks were expected to come under the spotlight today.
They are TH Heavy Engineering, which is believed to be in the
midst of finalising a joint-venture with an international oil and gas company to develop marginal oilfields in Malaysia, and Metronic Global, after its two shareholders who cumulatively own more than 10 per cent of the company, appointed four new directors.
Meanwhile, the Finance Index rose 23.31 points to 15,168.42, the Industrial Index inched up 4.16 points to 2,688.03 and the Plantation Index gained 32.41 points to 8,029.99.
The Ace Index added 5.97 points to 4,159.4, the FBMT100 advanced 41.65 points to 11,071.14, the FBM Emas increased 39.58 points to 11,211.71 and the FBM Mid 70 index earned 31.46 points to 12,055.42.
On the broader market, there were 118 gainers and 46 losers while 100 counters were unchanged, 1,372 counters untraded and 23 others were suspended.
Volume stood at 70.688 million shares worth RM51.653 million.
Among actives, XOX gained two sen to 22 sen, Metronic Global rose one sen to 12.5 sen and CME and Tiger Synergy added half-a-sen each to seven sen and 32 sen, respectively.
Both ELK-Desa and Ariantec were flat at RM1.16 and sen, respectively.
Heavyweights, Maybank inched up one sen to RM9.05, CIMB gained three sen to RM7.63 and Petronas Chemicals added five sen to RM6.14.
Sime Darby, Maxis and Public Bank were all flat at RM9.13, RM6.50 and RM15.98, respectively. Bernama
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