KUALA LUMPUR (April 6): The FBM KLCI extended its losses for the second day running, in line with the lower close in some Asian markets despite the overnight rally on Wall Street.

The benchmark index closed 5.33 points or 0.34% lower at 1,578.91, after an intraday low of 1,575.18.

Areca Capital Sdn Bhd CEO Danny Wong Teck Meng said the KLCI was weighed down by losses in selected plantation and telco counters, while the overall market sentiment remained tepid amid a lack of fresh catalysts.

Sime Darby Plantation Bhd, which closed 3.85% or 18 sen down at RM4.49, was a major contributor to the benchmark index's decline, along with fellow oil palm stocks IOI Corp Bhd and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd.

Sri Lanka yesterday banned imports of palm oil and new palm plantations and told producers to uproot existing plantations in a phased manner, in a surprise move that baffled the edible oil industry, according to news reports.

The island nation imports around 200,000 tonnes of palm oil every year, mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, traders estimate.

The Bursa Malaysia Plantation Index was the biggest loser by percentage among the bourse's indices,  closing 1.3% down at 6,939.63.

On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 655 to 379, while 467 counters were unchanged. Trading volume stood at 6.27 billion, down 20% from 7.84 billion yesterday. Trading value rose 14.69% to RM3.2 billion from RM2.79 billion.

New ACE Market-listed Volcano Bhd emerged as the day's top active counter with 104.46 million shares transacted on its maiden trading day. Shares in the nameplates and plastic injection moulded parts manufacturer closed up 38.57% or 13.5 sen at 48.5 sen compared to its initial public offering price of 35 sen.

Heavyweight telco firms Axiata Group Bhd, Maxis Bhd and DiGi.Com Bhd closed lower, along with Petronas Gas Bhd, ViTrox Corp Bhd, Dataprep Holdings Bhd, Unisem (M) Bhd, Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd and BSL Corp Bhd.

In contrast, glove makers Supermax Corp Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd and Top Glove Corp Bhd rose on fresh buying interest.

Also closing higher were Berjaya Corp Bhd, Dagang NeXchange Bhd, Ta Win Holdings Bhd and Focus Dynamics Group Bhd. Other gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd, BLD Plantations Bhd, Pecca Group Bhd, Greatech Technology Bhd, Hartalega, Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd.

Asian stocks were mixed with Japan's Nikkei 225 down 1.3%, while South Korea's Kospi added 0.2%.