KLSE market sentiment still cautious.

KUALA LUMPUR: Investor outlook for the equity market is still somewhat ambivalent judging by the relatively low market volume and narrow trading price range for most stocks. Shares on the Bursa Malaysia continued to tread water on Wednesday. There is no evidence of an imminent turnaround from the current lackluster trading conditions.

Uncertainties over the state of the US economy will likely continue to weigh on investors' mind worldwide for some time yet. The latest reading on US consumer confidence - where the index fell to its lowest levels since 1992 - underscored prevailing cautiousness.

With US home prices continuing to fall sharply and outlook on the employment market deteriorating, it is unsurprising that few are encouraged to put fresh money into stock markets. Elsewhere, oil prices are still holding near record levels. Crude oil futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange is currently hovering around US$137 (RM452.10) per barrel.

The KL Composite Index opened firmer and managed to stay in positive territory, thanks to gains by select blue chip stocks. On the other hand, market breadth was more neutral, moving in and out of positive territory throughout the day. At the close, gaining stocks edged ahead of losing ones by a ratio of about seven to five.

Leading the top gainers was BAT. The stock added 75 sen to RM44. Other notable gainers include DiGi, Public Bank, Bumiputra Commerce, Tenaga Nasional and Gamuda. The benchmark index added nearly nine points to finish at 1,209.1 points.

Market volume improved over the previous two days. About 448 million shares were traded Wednesday. AirAsia was the most actively traded stock. Its shares added 0.5 sen to 79.5 sen. Other heavily traded counters were Gamuda, Resorts World and Bumiputra Commerce. Kulim was the day's biggest loser. The stock fell 60 sen to RM9.70. Other losers were SP Setia, IOI Corp and Tanjong plc.