KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI erased early gains to end the day almost flat as investors' sentiment stayed cautious.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI was down 0.78 of a point at 1,428.76 after rising to an intraday high of 1,430.86.
On the broader market, decliners beat gainers 431 to 330, while 399 counters were unchanged. Total turnover shrank to 1.73 billion shares worth RM1.32bil.
Dealers said the market undertone remained cautious amid volatility although bargain-hunting activities may prevail.
The local index was dragged down mainly by the selling of banking, consumer and plantation stocks.
Petronas Dagangan was the top loser among index constituents, down 60 sen at RM22.80. Nestle lost 20 sen to RM133.80, PPB eased 18 sen to RM16.20 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong shed 16 sen to RM21.16.
Among the banks, Maybank eased two sen to RM8.56, Public Bank added one sen to RM4.40, CIMB gained one sen to RM5.10, RHB Bank fell one sen to RM5.66 and Hong Leong Bank tumbled 12 sen to RM20.08.
On the broader market, Chin Teck Plantations lost 22 sen to RM8.48, British American Tobacco fell 20 sen to RM10.30 and APM Automotive declined 13 sen to RM1.89.
Malaysian Pacific Industries rose 40 sen to RM29, Batu Kawan added 20 sen to RM22, Hap Seng gained 20 sen to RM7.40 and Carlsberg advanced 18 sen to RM22.34.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was quoted at 4.4508, up 0.06% against the US dollar.
US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 48 cents to US$102.12 and Brent lost 72 cents to US$105.55 per barrel.
Among the key regional markets:
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 0.65% to 26,961.68;
South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.18% to 2,370.97;
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.89% to 20,661.06;
Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.04% to 3,279.43;
Taiwan’s Taiex eased 0.17% to 14,694.08 and;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.13% to 3,117.79 points.