KLCI ends 11 points higher before Christmas

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI closed the last trading day before Christmas 10.55 points higher to 1,669.4, at times breaching but failing to hold above the 1,670 level. On Bursa Malaysia, losers beat gainers 324 to 279, while 330 stocks were unchanged. Trading was thin as investors stayed on the sidelines in view of the holiday-shortened week, with 620.1 million transactions worth RM801.18mil. The day's gainers included Nestle up RM1.88 to RM61.98, British American Tobacco RM1.44 to RM59.46, and Petronas Gas 60 sen to RM19.70. The losers were Dutch Lady which shed 96 sen to RM45.62, Tasek 16 sen to RM12.70, and Litrak down 15 sen to RM3.95. The most active on Monday were XOX, which has been issued an unusual market activity query by the stock exchange, SP Setia-WB, Karambunai, Tiger Synergy, Asia Media, TH Heavy Engineering, Globaltec, and AirAsia. In the region, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.99% to 9,940.06. Its peers, however, saw gains, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index up 0.16% to 22,541.18, Shanghai's Composite Index 0.27% to 2,159.05, South Korea's Kospi 0.07% to 1,981.82, and Singapore's Straits Times Index 0.16% to 3,168.57. US light crude oil slipped 0.16% to US$88.52 while spot gold rose slightly to US$1,663.25. - star online