KUALA LUMPUR: Profit-taking snapped a four-session winning streak on Bursa Malaysia, dragging the FBM KLCI lower on Wednesday, bucking the regional trend.
At closing, the market barometer fell 4.94 points, or 0.29%, to 1,710.39, after trading between an intraday high of 1,720.46 and a low of 1,705.11.
Winners and losers were closely balanced, with 565 gainers against 584 losers and 596 that were flat. About 3.2 billion shares, valued at RM2.7bil, changed hands.
Dealers said a bout of profit-taking weighed on the market today, with selling pressure in banking stocks further dragging the local bourse lower.
They added that the extended Iran ceasefire offered some respite, although peace talks remain fragile and uncertain.
Among the decliners, Malaysian Pacific Industries
slid 96 sen to RM35.64, Hong Leong Bank declined 34 sen to RM22.62, Heineken lost 32 sen to RM23.12 and F&N fell 28 sen to RM30.92.
Nestle rose 72 sen to RM98.74, PETRONAS Dagangan added 60 sen to RM20.60, Hong Leong Industries climbed RM17.58 and UWC gained 19 sen to RM4.97.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil rose US$1.13, or 1.15%, to US$99.61 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate crude added US$1.14, or 1.27%, at US$90.81 per barrel.
Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index slipped 0.51%, even as most regional bourses closed higher.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% to 59,585.86, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.46% to 6,417.93.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.22% to 26,163.24, whereas Taiwan’s Taiex advanced 0.73% to 37,878.47.
In China, the CSI 300 climbed 0.66% to 4,799.63, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.52% to 4,106.26.
