KLCI closes slightly lower amid mixed sentiment

KUALA LUMPUR: The local equities market ended on a soft note on Wednesday, tracking key regional markets.

In Southeast Asia, Singapore and the Philippines saw positive performances in their markets following losses in previous sessions. Indonesia, however, fell 0.3% as the rupiah had slid to a 20-year low. 

With China's markets closed for its week-long national holiday, Hong Kong's investors stayed on the sidelines and practised caution leading to a 0.13% slip to 27,091.26.

In other key Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei fell on US auto sales data, dropping 0.66% to 24.110.96, while South Korea's Kospi skidded as the won weakened, losing 1.25% to 2,309.57.

At 5pm, the FBM KLCI was down 1.85 points to 1,796.30. Turnover was 2.34 billion shares valued at RM1.99bil. There were 336 gainers compared to 472 decliners and 429 counters unchanged.

Weighing the market, MISC shed nine sen to RM6.04, Digi dropped five sen to RM4.77 and Maybank lost 3 sen to RM9.71

Gainers included Press Metal rising 11 sen to RM4.96, Tenaga gaining four sen to RM15.58 and DIalog adding three sen to RM3.55.

Some notable share price movements included Apex, which hit limit up in afternoon trade at RM1.24. The stock pared gains to post a 24.5 sen increase over the day at RM1.19.

Cypark moved up 20 sen to RM2.60 while MPI added 18 sen to RM12.52. 

On the losing end, Dutch Lady shaved 60 sen to RM64.40, Aeon Credit lost 24 sen to RM15.70 and Amway dropped 15 sen to RM6.70.

Oil traded above US$85 a barrel and near a four-year high on Wednesday, supported by expectations that US sanctions on Iran will tighten supply and strain the ability of Saudi Arabia and other producers to pump more, Reuters reported.

WTI crude rose 30 cents to US$75.53 a barrel while Brent crude jumped 46 cents to US$85.26 a barrel.

In currencies, the ringgit was trading little changed against the US dollar at 4.1390 and the Singapore dollar at 3.0111. It slipped 0.3% against the pound sterling at 5.3873.