Leading the selling-on-strength list was Public Bank Bhd, followed by foodstuff manufacturer PPB Group Bhd and YTL Power International Bhd as investors took advantage of the gains in their share prices.
Public Bank’s share price rose 20 sen during the week in review to close at RM8.65 on May 27. The 2.4% gain prompted investors to take profit, resulting in a net outflow of RM4.89 million from the stock during the week. Some RM3.5 million also flowed out of Public Bank-foreign shares after the stock gained 10 sen during the week to RM8.60.
PPB Group Bhd’s share price was hovering around its 12-month high level, buoyed by the strong crude palm oil (CPO) prices. The counter saw a net outflow of RM4.36 million as its share price rose 10 sen to RM11.10 during the week.
Some RM3.51 million also flowed out of YTL Power as its share price inched up three sen during the week to RM2.11. The utility stock rebounded 28% from its low of RM1.65 in October last year.
Investors also took profit as IOI Corp Bhd’s share price rose. The counter saw a net outflow of some RM2.39 million during the week in review. IOI Corp gained 20 sen during the week to RM4.68. It reported a lower pre-tax profit of RM937.3 million for the nine-month period ended March 31, 2009 versus RM2.23 billion in the previous corresponding period.
The shrinkage in profit was partly due to unrealised translation losses of RM482 million. IOI Corp said it would write off the amount should the ringgit continue to appreciate against the US dollar.
Petronas Dagangan Bhd topped Bloomberg’s buying-on-weakness list. The petrol retailer saw a net inflow of RM980,000 into its counter as its share price fell five sen to RM7.90 during the week.
Loss-making MNC Wireless Bhd, a mobile technology solutions provider, came in second on the buying-on-weakness list, followed by Fajarbaru Builder Bhd and KNM Group Bhd.
Some RM450,000 flowed into MNC Wireless as its share price dipped further during the week in review. Year-to-date, the thinly traded stock has tumbled 52%.
Fajarbaru saw a net inflow of RM280,000 into buying its shares during the week as its share price dropped one sen to RM1.04. The stock has soared 92% since the beginning of the year. Fajarbaru says it has an order book of about RM503 million as at March 31, consisting mainly of public projects that could last until 2011.
Taking advantage of its share price weakness, investors poured in some RM230,000 into KNM Group Bhd. The share price of the oil and gas fabricator was down one sen to 81 sen during the week. Nevertheless, note that the counter has surged over 150% from a low of 32 sen in March.
This article appeared in the Capital page of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 757, June 1-7, 2009.