Bursa ends broadly lower

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 - Share prices on Bursa Malaysia ended the day broadly lower today as sentiment weakened regionally amid worries of a global financial downturn, said dealers.

They said selling was moderate and investors were reluctant to hold fresh positions ahead of the long weekend with the Deepavali celebration on Monday.

The benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) slipped 12.96 points to end the session at 891.32, the lowest point since mid-2006, after opening 12.47 points lower at 891.81 this morning.

Throughout the session, the KLCI moved between 880.81 and 893.97.

"Foreign investors were the net sellers in most Asian markets. They are holding back their portfolio investments at the moment, waiting to see the finances of their respective countries in order first," said a dealer.

The Industrial Index fell 30.23 points to 2,108.97, the Finance Index shed 130.48 points to 6,851.72 and the Plantation Index eased 111.41 points to 3,688.62.

The FBMEmas slipped 72.81 points to 5,882.39, the FBM30 lost 55.28 points to 5,812.98, the FBM2BRD decreased 78.58 points to 4,365.15 while the FBM Mesdaq Index was 91.59 points lower at 3,342.37.

Losers outnumbered gainers by 477 to 161 while 188 counters were unchanged, 506 untraded and 26 others suspended.

Volume rose to 579.384 million shares worth RM1.043 billion from yesterday's 510.391 million shares worth RM1.067 billion. - Bernama