Profit-taking in the market, FBM KLCI down 3.14 points

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended lower, echoing regional equity performances on profit-taking in index-linked stocks, leaving the indices in negative territory on Tuesday.

At 5pm, the FBM KLCI was down 3.14 points, or 0.23% to 1,386.74. It has risen to an intraday high of 1,393.38.

There were 361 stocks advancing against 425 stocks declining while 425 counters unchanged. Trading volume stood at to 2.6 billion units worth RM1.51bil.

In terms of fund flows, foreign funds and local retailers were net sellers on Monday offloading equities worth RM29mil and RM4mil respectively.

Local institutions emerged as net buyers with total purchases valued at RM33mil.

On Bursa Malaysia, Nestle was the top loser, declining RM1 to RM130.50, followed by Heineken Malaysia, which lost 76 sen to RM25.82 and Dutch Lady, which eased 40 sen to RM22.52.

Among the gainers, PETRONAS Dagangan rose 68 sen to RM22.48, United Plantations gained 38 sen to RM15.54 and Hextar Technologies added 24 sen to RM26.94.

Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 55 cents to US$69.92 and Brent added 49 cents to US$74.67 per barrel.

Asian bourses closed mixed today, with Japan's Nikkei 225 losing 0.49%, South Korea’s Kospi closed down 0.03%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.88% and China’s Shanghai Composite added 1.23%.