FBM KLCI erases earlier gains to finish almost flat

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI struggled to keep its gains at closing on Wednesday as investors remained risk averse.

The market bellwether closed up 0.84 of a point, or 0.06% to 1,424.34. The index has risen to an intraday higher of 1,427.40.

There were 414 gainers, 430 losers, and 398 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia. Volume was 2.6 billion shares, valued at RM1.63bil

Among the gainers on Bursa Malaysia, PETRONAS Dagangan jumped 76 sen to RM22.60, Nestle gained 40 sen to RM134.80, Malayan Cement gained 35 sen to RM2.81 and Hume Cement Industries rose 30 sen to RM1.26.

Hextar Technologies slid 60 sen to RM22.90, Hong Leong Financial Group eased 24 sen to RM17.68, PJBumi lost 16 sen to RM1.29 and K Seng Seng declined 13 sen to RM1.20.

YTL Corp, the most actively traded counter on Bursa Malaysia, rose 8.5 sen to 75 sen with 130.58 million shares traded.

Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 13 cents to US$70.73 and Brent lost 18 cents to US$74.73 per barrel.

On the external front, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was lower by 0.61%.

Japan's Nikkei 225 closed above the key psychological 30,000 level for the first time since September 2021. The index closed up 0.84% at 30,093.59.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng slumped 2.09% to 19,560.57 and South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.58% to 2,494.66.

China's CSI300 Index closed down 0.45% at 3,960.16 while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.21% to 3,284.23.