KUALA LUMPUR: The local bourse closed firmly in the red as risk-off sentiment dominated trading, with over 900 counters declining and the FBM KLCI slipping for a second straight session.
The FBM KLCI fell 11.8 points, or 0.68%, to close at 1,731.02, easing from an intraday high of 1,747.18 and ending the session at its low.
All indices on Bursa Malaysia, apart from the Bursa Malaysia Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Index, were down.
Market breadth was negative, with losers outnumbering gainers by 922 to 279. With more than three times as many stocks declining as advancing, bearish sentiment weighed on the broader market.
About 3.83 billion shares, valued at RM3.7bil, changed hands.
Dealers said the market remained under pressure as risk-off sentiment continued to dominate, with selling seen across the market.
They noted that weakness in regional markets further dampened investor appetite.
Among the decliners, Fraser & Neave tumbled RM1.48, while United Plantations slid 82 sen to RM28.98. Malaysian Pacific Industries
shed 50 sen to RM32, and PETRONAS Gas declined 40 sen to RM18.10.
On the upside, Nestlé rose 70 sen to RM112.60, while Carlsberg gained 44 sen to RM18.20. PETRONAS Dagangan added 34 sen to RM20.30, while Allianz climbed 18 sen to RM22.48.
Meanwhile, stock market data showed foreign funds and local retailers were net sellers at RM27mil and RM9mil respectively on Wednesday. Local institutions were net buyers at RM36mil.
On the forex market, the ringgit fell 0.28% against the US dollar to 3.9437 and inched down 0.15% against the Singapore dollar to 3.0971.
Across the region, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid 1.36%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.88% lower at 53,818.04, while South Korea’s Kospi plunged 3.86% to 5,163.57.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged up 0.14% to 26,885.24.
Meanwhile, China’s CSI300 slipped 0.6% to 4,670.42, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.64% to 4,075.92.
