FBM KLCI falls; ringgit hit seven-month low

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI ended lower on Thursday amid broader market weakness, while the ringgit weakens against the US dollar.

At 5pm, the 30-stock index was down 3.78 points to 1,390.89. For the week, the benchmark index rose marginally by 0.16%.

Losers outpaced gainers 518 to 353, while 401 counters were unchanged. About 4.9 billion shares, valued at RM1.63bil, changed hands.

The ringgit hit a seven-month low on Friday against a broadly strong US dollar.

Ringgit was quoted at 4.6778, depreciating 0.48% against the US dollar at 5.08pm, its lowest since November 2022.

The local currency was up 0.9% against the euro at 5.0758. It rose 0.12% against the pound sterling at 5.9455 and gained 0.4% against the Singapore dollar at 3.4576.

Among the losers on Bursa Malaysia, PETRONAS Dagangan slid 54 sen to RM21.40, Hong Leong Bank eased 24 sen to RM18.80, Panasonic Manufacturing fell 22 sen to RM19.88 and Imaspro lost 22 sen to RM5.39.

Hextar Technologies added 42 sen to RM26.92, Malaysian Pacific Industries rose 22 sen to RM28.30, Rapid gained 22 sen to RM21.12 and Gamuda climbed 21 sen to RM4.46.

EA Holdings, the most active counter on Bursa Malaysia, tumbled 50% to 0.5 sen with 2.15 billion shares traded.

On the external front, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.29%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 1.45% higher at 28,498.20 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.71% to 18,889.97.

China’s CSI300 index eased 1.53% to 3,864.03, while the Shanghai Composite Index ended down 1.31% at 3,197.90 points.