KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI today closed 1.04% lower, snapping two consecutive days of gains amid a cautious market, as investors awaited a highly anticipated inflation report from the US.
At 5pm, the 30-stock index tumbled 14.76 points, or 1.04% to 1,411.32, its lowest close since May 2020.
The broader market sagged, with decliners outnumbering advancers 578 to 249 while 420 counters were unchanged. Turnover stood at 1.76 billion shares worth RM1.28bil.
PETRONAS Chemicals was the top loser among the KLCI constituents, down 40 sen to RM7.88.
PPB lost 32 sen to RM15.68, MISC fell 30 sen to RM6.54 and PETRONAS Gas eased 18 sen to RM16.20.
Nestle added 60 sen to RM134.40, PETRONAS Dagangan rose 18 sen to RM22.04, MR DIY gained six sen to RM2.09 and IHH climbed three sen to RM6.42.
Newly listed Infoline Tec Group closed down 1.5 sen to 30.5 sen with 114.94 million shares traded.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that oil edged up on Wednesday, a day after settling below US$100 a barrel for the first time since April, and gains were limited by a U.S. supply report showing rising inventories and caution ahead of US inflation data.
US light crude oil rose 97 cents to US$96.81 and Brent added 97 cents to US$100.46 per barrel.
Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 0.54% at 26,478.77 and South Korea’s Kospi ended up 0.47%, at 2,328.61.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.2% to 20,797.95 while China’s CSI300 index rose 0.2% to 4,321.46.
