Malaysian Shares End in Red as August Inflation Quickens

MT Newswires Live09-18

Malaysian shares closed slightly lower on Friday, with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI down 0.5% at 1,674.74, due to higher-than expected inflation rate in August.

In economic news, Malaysia's headline consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.9% year over year in August, according to the DoSM data. The reading beat the consensus forecast of 1.8% growth tracked by Investing.com and compared with a 1.8% expansion recorded in the previous month.

Malaysia's trade surplus increased to 28.1 billion ringgit in August from 22.5 billion ringgit in the previous month, according to data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

The trade surplus beat the forecast of 25.3 billion ringgit, tracked by Investing.com Exports surged 45.5% year-over-year to 191 billion ringgit, while imports rose 41.1% to 163 billion ringgit, beating the 33.3% forecast and faster than the 36.4% growth in the previous month.

In corporate news, TMK Chemical (KLSE:TMK) signed a conditional deal to acquire 100% of Chemical Co. of Malaysia from Batu Kawan (KLSE:BKAWAN) and Enternal Edge for 939.9 million ringgit. Shares of both TMK Chemical and Batu Kawan gained over 1% on Friday's close.

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