KLCI snaps six-day rally as investors take profit

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI closed 11.22 points lower at 1,644.09 on profit-taking activity following six consecutive days of gains.

The sell-off came on the back of Wall Street's overnight performance, which saw the tech-heavy Nasdaq enter correction territory as regulators increased their scrutiny over leading tech giants.

Trading on Bursa Malaysia, which ended at the close of the morning session in the light of the Hari Raya holidays, saw slightly over one billion shares exchanging hands for RM1.01bil.

Market breadth was an even spread of 349 decliners, 334 gainers and 349 counters unchanged.

Heavyweight counters showing the biggest declines were Axiata falling 12 sen to RM4.56, Maxis slipping 11 sen to RM5.44 and Digi shedding 11 sen to RM4.77.

Profit-taking also landed Genting in the red after a strong push in the previous session. The counter shaved 20 sen to RM6.40.

Among the top active counters, Lambo rose 0.5 sen to six sen, Sapura Energy added one sen to 30 sen and Ekovest added one sen to 77.5 sen.

Meanwhile, equity markets buckled across the region as Wall Street's negative performance added to fears over a slowing economy and growing US-China conflict.

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8%, CSI300 Index dropped 0.8%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 0.3%. Japan's Nikkei Index and South Korea's Kospi Index were little changed.

Oil prices have also taken a hit from the souring investment landscape, lending fears of slowing fuel consumption. US crude dropped 17 cents to US$53.08 a barrel and Brent crude slid 27 cents to US$61.01 a barrel.

The ringgit rose 0.1% against the greenback to 4.1770 as investors speculated that the US Federal Reserve may be pressured to cut its policy rate.

It slipped 0.1% to 5.2914 against the pound sterling and was little changed against the Singapore dollar at 3.0521.