KUALA LUMPUR (July 18): The FBM KLCI pared losses in the final trading minutes for a 0.27 point drop as investors bargain hunted for index-linked shares like Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd and Sime Darby Bhd.

At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,754.92 points after falling to its intraday low at 1,752.57 points. Petronas Chemicals
and Sime Darby shares rose two sen each to close at RM6.91 and RM9.55 respectively.

Analysts said Malaysian shares appeared to be oversold. Hence, there are rebound expectations.

Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd retail and equity research head Loui Low said "the market appeared to hold steady over the past few days despite expectations that Malaysian stocks should be heading into a rebound.

"However, technical indicators suggest that the market is likely to pick up in the coming weeks."

Across Bursa Malaysia today, 2.16 billion shares valued at RM2.22 billion were traded.

Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd (IWCity), which led active counters, was also the fourth-largest gainer. IWCity added 30 sen to RM1.54 with some 109 million shares traded.