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Malaysian Shares End in Red As Rubber Output Shrinks; iCents' Shares Rally 10%

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Malaysian shares reversed yesterday's gains on Wednesday to end in the red as the country's rubber production dropped in March. The index bucked broader regional gains today.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI shed 4.25 points to end 0.2% lower at 1,746.31. The day range was between 1,742.41 and 1,752.64.

In economic news, Malaysia's natural rubber production fell 8.2% in March to 21,310 tonnes from 22,124 tonnes in February, the country's statistics department said. Annually, production dropped 29.3% from 28,739 tonnes, data showed.

Moreover, the value of work done in Malaysia's construction sector expanded 8.5% year-on-year in the first quarter, easing from 10.3% in the previous quarter, the DoSM data showed. The expansion was supported by broad-based activity across key segments.

In corporate news, shares of iCents Group (KLSE:ICENTS) jumped over 10% on today's close after its unit VC Engineering secured a 34.5 million ringgit subcontract linked to a data center project.

Shares of Carimin Petroleum (KLSE:CARIMIN) slid over 1% on close after it proposed to fully privatize offshore marine support provider Sealink International (KLSE:SEALINK) in a cash deal valued at 165 million ringgit.

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