KLCI closes 10.7 points lower in lacklustre trading

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI closed lower today as investors stayed cautious following the steep slide on Wall Street overnight.

The 30-stock index closed down 10.7 points, or 0.67% to 1,585.98, its lowest in over a week. Traded volumes stood at 2.21 billion units worth RM1.89bil.

The broader market sagged, with decliners outnumbering advancers 645 to 300 while 425 counters were unchanged.

Dealers expect the undertone of the market to continue to be weak and anticipate bargain-hunting activities to emerge.

In today’s session, KLCI-component stocks were mostly in the negative, with 20 losers, six gainers and four closed unchanged.

Petronas Chemicals shed 30 sen to RM9.92, Hong Leong Financial Group eased 18 sen to RM19.32, Press Metal fell 15 sen to RM5.87 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 12 sen to RM28.80.

Sime Darby Plantation added eight sen to RM5.20, Telekom Malaysia rose seven sen to RM5.06, Petronas Gas gained six sen to RM16.94 and Maybank climbed three sen to RM8.98.

Among the gainers on Bursa Malaysia, Texchem added 22 sen to RM2.78, Harison rose 17 sen to RM5.60 and Hengyuan advanced 15 sen to RM4.81.

Batu Kawan fell 54 sen to RM28.52, Malaysian Pacific Industries lost 50 sen to RM30.50 and United Plantations eased 30 sen to RM16.60.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was quoted at 4.360, down 0.1% against the US dollar.

US light crude oil climbed 80 cents to US$102.50 and Brent added 78 cents to US$105.77 per barrel.