KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI ended lower after choppy trading, with last-minute selling pushing the index to its intraday low while the ringgit weakened to a two-month low.
At 5 pm, the 30-stock index fell 5.79 points, or 0.34%, to close at 1,710.89, its intraday low, after reaching a high of 1,719.89 earlier in the session.
Market breadth turned negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 572 to 483, while trading volume stood at three billion shares worth RM3.15bil.
Among the decliners, Heineken fell 30 sen to RM22.74, BLD Plantation
lost 20 sen to RM15, Gamuda dropped 18 sen to RM3.98 and PETRONAS Gas declined 18 sen to RM17.62.
Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rose 54 sen to RM20.14, PETRONAS Chemicals gained 34 sen to RM5.80, PETRONAS Dagangan added 32 sen to RM21.92 and Batu Kawan advanced 28 sen to RM19.88.
Dealers said sentiment remained cautious amid persistent geopolitical uncertainties and rising oil prices, which continued to weigh on regional markets.
They added that late selling reflected profit-taking, with investors staying on the sidelines due to the uncertain global outlook.
Oil rose on Thursday, rebounding from the previous session’s losses amid concerns that prolonged Middle East conflict could further disrupt energy flows.
Brent crude gained US$3.64, or 3.56%, to US$105.86 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate rose US$3.32, or 3.68%, to US$93.64 per barrel.
On the forex market, the ringgit weakened 0.7% against the US dollar to 3.9932, its lowest in about two months.
The local currency fell 0.42% against the Singapore dollar to 3.1115, declined 0.39% against the euro to 4.6168 and slipped 0.43% against the pound sterling to 5.3332.
Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.27%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 1.89%, South Korea’s Kospi slid 3.22%, while China’s CSI300 Index declined 1.32% and Singapore’s Straits Times Index eased 0.2%.
