Market Close - KLCI perks up after news Mahathir steps down as Petronas advisor

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 2): The key FBM KLCI, which posted small gains for the whole day, perked up in late trades after the news that former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has stepped down as advisor to national oil company Petronas reached the market.

Prime mover in the market was Petronas Gas Bhd, a unit of Petronas, which soared 62 sen to RM24.22 per share. It was the top gainer.

SapuraKenana Petroleum Bhd (SKP), partly controlled by Mahathir’s son, also jumped 18 sen to RM4.45 on heavy trades of 18.35 million shares.

DRB-Hicom Bhd, set up by Mahathir’s government during his reign as prime minister, rose 28 sen to RM2.71 on some 7 million shares, while Malaysia Airports Bhd -- built during his time -- also jumped 37 sen to RM9.00 on heavy trades.

At 5.00 pm market close, KLCI rose 5.43 points or 0.3% to end at 1818.15.

“I don’t know why SKP and DRB suddenly rose in late trades. Maybe without Mahathir, it will be better for them in one way or another,” said a senior dealer.

Apart from Mahathir’s news, there was another major news that electricity tariffs will be raised soon. Tenaga Nasional Bhd, the major beneficiary, rose 3 sen to RM9.89 ahead of this piece of news.

Earlier, plantation stocks featured prominently among the top 30 gainers after a global expert projected a more bullish price outlook for crude palm oil. PPB Group Bhd led the charge with 44 sen rise to end at RM15.3.

Though the market was generally slow, volume traded totalled some 1.26 billion shares worth RM1.39 billion.

In the broad market, there were more losers than gainers. Losers stood at 508 and gainers at 328.

Written by Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com