KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI closed flat on Monday amid cautious sentiment and external uncertainties, while the ringgit strengthened to its highest level in about 12 weeks against the US dollar.
The 30-stock index edged up by a whisker—just 0.07 of a point—to 1,499.47, staying just shy of the psychological 1,500 level. It hit an intraday high of 1,502.08 and a low of 1,494.27.
Losers outpaced gainers 512 to 308, while 463 counters were unchanged. Volume stood at 1.53 billion units valued at RM1.19bil.
The ringgit touched its best level since late January. It rose 0.96% against the US dollar to 4.3713.
The local unit slipped 0.05% against the pound sterling to 5.8602, but gained 0.15% against the Singapore dollar to 3.3583.
Among the FBM KLCI component stocks, Axiata contributed the most to the index gain and had the largest move, increasing 4.28%, or eight sen to RM1.95.
Sime Darby was the biggest drag on the index and had the biggest drop, declining 2.4%, or five sen to RM2.03.
On the broader market, Oriental Interest rose 17 sen to RM1.45, FACB Industries
added 15 sen to RM1.27, and Country View gained 14 sen to RM1.94.
Meanwhile, F&N tumbled 84 sen to RM25.90, Dutch Lady slid 50 sen to RM27.50, and Malaysian Pacific Industries fell 36 sen to RM15.10.
Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 1.3%, while Taiwan’s Taiex dropped 1.49%. South Korea’s index rose by 0.2%.
China’s CSI 300 Index gained 0.33%, and the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.45%.
