16 
business
KLCI 894.0 6.24
STI 1,614.44 16.25
Hang Seng 12,798.52 376.58
SCI 2,200.65 105.12
market summary
Finance stocks boost CI
BLUE chips on Bursa Malaysia closed higher
with finance counters providing the boost on
expectations that they would benefit from
the pump-priming stimulus package to be
announced on March 10 even as lower liners
continued to be dragged down by worries
over the economic slowdown, dealers said.
Bumiputra-Commerce gained 30 sen to
RM6.75 while Maybank added 10 sen to
RM5.40, as they are among those expected
to benefit the most from investment banking
business activities to be generated by the
second stimulus package.
The benchmark KLCI increased 6.24 points
to close at 894.07. – Bernama
World markets swoon as
US slumps to bank aid
TOKYO: The United States vowed to prop up
ailing banks if needed, but worries that yet
more cash injections would fail to staunch
the global economic crisis weighed on stock
markets around the world yesterday.
The US government was set to take a
bigger stake in Citigroup and inject yet more
cash into insurer AIG, sources said, even as
a Federal Reserve official urged that such
interventions should be short term.
In Japan, Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano
said the government would consider a call
to buy shares directly to support the stock
market, which fell to near 26-year lows yes-
terday, dragged down by banks as worries
grew about international financial stability.
Shares fell steeply across Asia and were
expected to open sharply lower in Europe,
mirroring a big drop in US equities to start
the week on fears that Washington’s bank
stabilisation plan would not be enough
to keep the economy from sliding into a
deeper hole.
US government bond prices rose slightly
and the dollar gained against a basket of
currencies as investors sought safety, while
gloom about economic prospects weighed
on oil prices.
Amid speculation that the US may still
have to nationalise some banks, the govern-
ment said it will start examining large firms’
capital needs today to determine whether a
bigger buffer is warranted.
Richard Fisher, president of the Federal
theSun | WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25 2009
Nikkei 7,268.56 107.60
TSEC 4,430.18 47.60
KOSPI 1,063.88 35.67
S&P/ASX200 3,285.00 19.10
FEBRUARY 24, 2009
INDICES CHANGE
FBMEMAS 5,862.39 +30.91
COMPOSITE 894.07 +6.24
INDUSTRIAL 2,107.49 +8.78
CONSUMER PROD 282.67 +0.26
INDUSTRIAL PROD 66.34 -0.06
CONSTRUCTION 166.75 +0.72
TRADING SERVICES 117.76 +0.40
FINANCE 7,117.11 +93.42
PROPERTIES 530.56 -0.70
PLANTATIONS 4,363.15 -7.97
MINING 231.01 UNCH
FBMSHA 6,059.57 +2.54
FBM2BRD 3,981.99 -6.30
TECHNOLOGY 13.02 -0.09
TURNOVER VALUE
338.466mil RM601.100mil
Reserve Bank of Dallas, cautioned that inter-
ventions should be short term and backed
by an exit strategy that can be “realisable
very quickly”.
Yesterday was shaping up to be an
anxious day in stock markets, as negative
sentiment spread from the US to Asia and
threatened to swamp Europe next.
Asian shares resumed a drop towards
five-year lows, with an MSCI index of Asia-
Pacific stocks outside Japan down 2.3%. Ja-
pan’s Nikkei average fell 1.5%, and indexes
in South Korea and Hongkong dropped
more than 3.5%.
Among Asian financial shares, Nomura
Holdings, Japan’s biggest broker, lost 9.3% a
day after announcing plans to raise US$3.3
billion (RM12.05 billion).
Japan was considering direct measures
to allay the damage, including a call from
the head of a business group for the govern-
ment to buy shares.
In Europe, the French government on
Judge delays PCCW
Monday said it was pumping extra cash privatisation
into two mutually owned banks, and central HONG KONG: The privatisation of Hongkong
European central banks took the unpre- telecoms firm PCCW will be further delayed
cedented step of talking up the region’s after a judge yesterday granted the city’s securi-
currencies. ties watchdog more time to investigate possible
Citigroup, whose stock has been pound- vote-rigging. Judge Susan Kwan said that the
ed by fears the government may seize the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), which
bank and wipe out shareholders’ invest- is looking into allegations that the shareholder
ments, was in talks to give the government vote to take the firm into private hands was
a larger stake, a person familiar with the fixed, had 21 days to file evidence.
matter told Reuters. Yesterday’s hearing was originally expected
to rubber stamp the HK$16 billion privatisation
bid, and PCCW had hoped to delist from Hong-
kong’s stock exchange today. – AFP
TM posts lower earnings
KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia posted
lower earnings of RM2.917 billion before
interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation
for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2008 as
against RM3.235 billion in the previous year.
Its revenue however increased to
RM8.674 billion from RM8.296 billion.
It paid dividends amounting to RM700
million or up to 90% of normalised profit
after tax and minority interest. – Bernama
Affin’s pre-tax profit up at
RM404mil
KUALA LUMPUR: Affin Holdings Bhd has re-
corded a pre-tax profit of RM404.2 million on
the back of a turnover of RM2.1 billion for its
financial year ended Dec 31, 2008.
This was an increase of RM51.2 million com-
pared to the pre-tax profit of RM353 million in
the previous year, the group said in a statement
yesterday. Earnings per share improved to 19.60
sen from 19.11 sen in 2007 while net assets per
share rose to RM2.95 from RM2.85 previously.
Record profit for Supermax
KUALA LUMPUR: Glove producer Supermax
Corp Bhd recorded a profit before tax and
before impairment of investment of RM68.33
million over a revenue of RM833.40 million
for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2008. The
rubber glove maker claimed both its revenue
and operation profit were the highest ever in
the company’s history. – Bernama