KUALA LUMPUR: The local bourse slipped on Thursday amid profit-taking in banking counters, even as the ringgit strengthened to its highest level against the US dollar since April 2018.
The FBM KLCI declined 5.54 points, or 0.32%, to 1,750.85 after trading between an intraday high of 1,758.06 and a low of 1,748.30.
There were 489 gainers, 593 losers and 555 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia. Turnover stood at 2.57 billion shares valued at RM2.8bil.
In today’s session, 21 of the KLCI-component stocks finished in the red while six counters rose.
Dealers said the decline was mainly due to profit-taking, with banking stocks facing selling pressure after recent gains.
They added that investors remained cautious despite the firmer ringgit and mixed regional cues, trimming positions ahead of fresh catalysts.
Among the decliners, Nestle fell 70 sen to RM110.60, United Plantations shed 58 sen to RM29.62, Hong Leong Financial Group eased 16 sen to RM22.68 and Lysaght Galvanized Steel
slipped 14 sen to RM2.25.
On the upside, Heineken rose 70 sen to RM24.40, F&N gained 58 sen to RM32.88, Hong Leong Industries added 42 sen to RM18.62 and PETRONAS Gas advanced 30 sen to RM18.54.
ACE Market debutant Kee Ming soared 128.95%, or 49 sen, to 87 sen, making it the third top gainer on Bursa Malaysia, with 78.99 million shares traded.
Meanwhile, the ringgit extended its uptrend, rising 0.22% to 3.9055 against the US dollar, its lowest close since April 2018, bringing its year-to-date gain to 3.97%.
The local currency was up 0.46% against the euro at 4.6432. It rose 0.65% against the pound sterling at 5.3280 and gained 0.16% against the Singapore dollar at 3.0965.
Around the region, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.02% to 57,639.84, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.86% to 27,032.54.
China’s CSI300 Index closed up 0.12% to 4,719.58 while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.05% to 4,134.02.
Meanwhile, South Korean shares climbed to a record high, with the Kospi rising 3.13% to a fresh peak of 5,522.27
In Singapore, the FTSE Straits Times Index gained 0.7% to close at a record 5,021.27, breaching the 5,000-point level for the first time, Reuters reported.
