KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI saw choppy trading before ending lower for a fifth straight session on Tuesday, as investors stayed cautious ahead of the corporate earnings season, amid volatility fuelled by the Iran war.
The market bellwether ended the day 0.44 of a point, or 0.03%, lower at 1,727.27, easing from its intraday high of 1,734.32.
There were 509 gainers, 618 losers and 610 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia. Turnover stood at 3.35 billion shares valued at RM3.24bil.
Dealers said trading remained brisk as investors repositioned ahead of the corporate earnings season over the coming weeks, although sentiment stayed cautious amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
They added that bargain-hunting in selected heavyweights and lower-liner stocks helped support overall market activity despite the weaker broader sentiment.
Among the gainers, Ajinomoto jumped 48 sen to RM12.88, Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 36 sen to RM20.56, Dutch Lady
rose 20 sen to RM33 and Sunway Construction climbed 20 sen to RM7.30.
On the other hand, UMS Integration slid 42 sen to RM7.98, Nestle fell 36 sen to RM95.04, PETRONAS Dagangan lost 34 sen to RM19.20 and Hong Leong Industries declined 28 sen to RM21.70.
On the forex front, the ringgit weakened 0.01% against the US dollar to 3.9750. However, the local currency edged up 0.06% against the Singapore dollar to 3.1037.
Meanwhile, oil prices declined after US President Donald Trump said he had paused a planned attack on Iran to allow for negotiations aimed at ending the war in the Middle East.
Brent Crude fell US$1.62 to US$110.48 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate eased 16 cents to US$108.50 per barrel.
Around the region, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares ex-Japan dropped 1.11%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.44% lower at 60,550.59 while South Korea’s Kospi slid 3.25% at 7,271.66.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.48%, at 25,797.85.
CSI300 index edged up 0.4% to 4,852.88, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.92% to 4,169.54 points.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Singapore stocks climbed to a record high as investors sought defensive havens amid volatility sparked by the Iran war.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose as much as 1% on Tuesday to 5,047.54, surpassing its previous intraday record set on Feb. 23.
