KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI continued its steady upward trajectory, closing higher on Thursday, despite a mixed performance among its regional peers, with some markets showing gains while others struggled amid ongoing tariff uncertainties.
The 30-stock index closed up 5.33 points, or 0.36%, at 1,506.52, slightly below its intraday high of 1,507.45.
Winners and losers were closely matched, with 463 gainers, 426 losers, and 456 counters unchanged. About 3.08 billion shares, valued at RM2.14bil, changed hands.
On Bursa Malaysia, F&N was the top gainer, jumping RM1.10 to RM27.20, followed by Malaysian Pacific Industries
, which added 52 sen to RM16.16, Ayer, which rose 34 sen to RM7.90, and Hong Leong Financial Group, which gained 22 sen to RM17.14.
Among the losers, Nestle slid 60 sen to RM80, Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 34 sen to RM19.52, FACB Industries fell 22 sen to RM1.05 and Carlsberg declined 20 sen to RM18.80.
Foreign funds turned net buyers on Wednesday, snapping up RM267mil worth of equities.
Meanwhile, local institutions and retailers were net sellers, disposing of RM244mil and RM24mil worth of shares respectively.
Asian markets were mixed on the day, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan trading 0.53% lower.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.49% while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.13%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.74% and Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.09%.
China’s CSI 300 Index fell 0.07% and the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.3%.
