Malaysian Shares End in Red As Producer Inflation Rises, Nestlé (Malaysia)'s Shares Gain 3%
Malaysian shares ended in the red on Friday, snapping yesterday's gains, after producer prices rose faster in June. Investor sentiment mirrored a downbeat regional performance.The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI, the main gauge of Malaysian stocks, shed 0.61 points to end 0.04% lower at 1,712.48.In economic news, The Producer Price Index (PPI) for local production in Malaysia rose 9.2% year over year in June, according to data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia. The reading compared with a 7.8% increase recorded in the previous month, beating market expectations of 7.7% tracked by Trading Economics.In corporate news, shares of Nestlé (Malaysia) (KLSE:NESTLE) gained about 3% on Tuesday's close after it reported a profit of 155 million ringgit in the second quarter of the year, up 38% from 112.1 million ringgit a year earlier. Basic earnings per share climbed to 0.661 ringgit from 0.4781 ringgit a year prior.UOA Development (KLSE:UOADEV) completed its dividend reinvestment scheme after 34.4 million new ordinary shares were listed on Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday. The scheme allows shareholders to reinvest their cash dividends in new shares instead of receiving cash. Shares ended flat today.
