Saturday June 22, 2013

Bursa: Trades 'valid and genuine'

By CHOONG EN HAN
han@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: The seemingly unusual market activity that saw sharp price gyrations in several stocks in the final 10 minutes of trading yesterday was valid and genuine, according to Bursa Malaysia.
Six counters from mid-caps to big ones, namely, Hap Seng Plantations Holdings Bhd, Batu Kawan Bhd, TDM Bhd, CB Industrial Product Holding Bhd (CBIP), Coastal Contracts Bhd and Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd, hit limit-down, or a 30% plunge, with a combined trade of RM43.1mil in that short time window during pre-close.
While the trading pattern may seem like an "error in trading" could have taken place, a Bursa Malaysia representative when contacted by StarBizWeek clarified: "With regards to the eight stocks which hit their limits-up (two) and down (six), Bursa Malaysia has investigated the matter and has confirmed with the broker that the basket order, which was from their institutional client, was valid and genuine."
In yesterday's trade, Hap Seng shed 81 sen to RM1.89, Batu Kawan lost RM5.76 to RM13.46, TDM declined RM1.24 to RM2.90, CBIP decreased 82 sen to RM1.93, Coastal Contracts was down 62 sen to RM1.48, and Berjaya Sports Toto fell RM1.01 to RM3.20.
At the other end of the spectrum, JCY International Bhd gained 24 sen, or 36%, to 90 sen and Star Publications (M) Bhd shot up 85 sen, or 29%, to RM3.71.
In the broader market, the FBM KLCI shed 6.49 points, or 0.37%, to 1,755.85 points, with 306 gainers, 512 losers, and 267 counters unchanged.