FBM KLCI bucks regional trend to end marginally lower

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia weakened on Monday, bucking the regional trend amid the absence of a fresh catalyst.

At 5 pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI closed down 0.87 of-a-point at 1,452.68. The index has risen to an intraday high of 1,460.98.

There were 465 gainers, 380 losers, and 416 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia. Turnover stood at 2.84 billion shares valued at RM1.78bil.

Dealers noted that investor sentiments turned cautious ahead of the overnight policy rate decision by Bank Negara’s Monetary Policy Committee.

Among the gainers on Bursa Malaysia, PETRONAS Dagangan jumped 34 sen to RM21.20, Malaysian Pacific Industries rose 32 sen to RM29.82, Harrisons added 30 sen to RM7.90 and Rapid climbed 28 sen to RM17.48.

Panasonic Manufacturing eased 28 sen to RM22.76, Hextar Technologies fell 16 sen to RM25.40, Southern Acids shed 15 sen to RM3.63 and Allianz slid 14 sen to RM13.88.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was quoted at 4.4773 against the greenback. The local unit opened higher against the US dollar this morning.

The local currency was down 0.29% against the euro at 4.7635. It fell 0.36% against the pound sterling at 5.3859 and marginally lower against the Singapore dollar at 3.3277.

Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 1.11%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.17%, South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.26% and Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.23%.