SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia closed lower Friday, as investors reduced their holdings ahead of the weekend, dealers said.

At close, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI) slid 1.33 points to 1,257.67, dragged down by gaming counters like Genting and Genting Malaysia.

Despite two days of Chinese New Year post-rally, the local bourse was unable to break the next immediate resistance level of 1,273 this week after surpassing the 1,256 level.

The FBM KLCI, which opened 0.64 of a point lower at 1,258.36 this morning, moved between 1,255.78 and 1,259.26 during trading.

The Finance Index declined 2.77 points to 11,001.94, the Industrial Index shed 3.22 points to 2,601.01 and the Plantation Index was 2.95 points lower at 6,277.11.

The FBM Emas Index dwindled 26.229 points to 8,453.87, the FBM70 lost 67.09 points to 8,264.26 and the FBM Ace Index was 51.12 points lower at 4,327.28.

Losers thumped gainers by 470 to 166 while 259 counters were unchanged, 435 untraded and 28 others suspended.

Total volume rose to 623.157 million shares worth RM1.159 billion from Thursday's closing of 598.452 million shares valued at RM998.257 million.

Bernama