KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI remained under pressure on Thursday as investors returned from the public holiday to a broadly weaker regional market, with cautious sentiment prevailing during the final stretch of the corporate earnings season.
The market bellwether ended 14.09 points, or 0.83%, lower at 1,684.93 after recovering from an intraday low of 1,683.08, easing from the day’s high of 1,707.91.
Market breadth remained negative, with 678 decliners outpacing 456 gainers, while 550 counters were unchanged. Turnover stood at 3.53 billion shares valued at RM4.19bil.
Dealers said investors largely remained on the sidelines amid the absence of fresh market-moving catalysts, while the weaker regional market performance further weighed on sentiment.
They added that cautious trading persisted as investors continued assessing the final batch of corporate earnings announcements.
Among the decliners, Hong Leong Bank slid 72 sen to RM21.18, Batu Kawan lost 44 sen to RM19.96 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 38 sen to RM19.96.
Maybank fell 44 sen to RM10.50. For the first quarter, the bank's net profit dipped to RM2.48bil from RM2.59bil in the year-ago quarter, translating to a decline in earnings per share to 20.53 sen from 21.45 sen previously.
Quarterly revenue fell to RM14.92bil from RM16.87bil in the previous comparative quarter.
In contrast, Allianz gained 50 sen to RM21.92, KESM added 47 sen to RM4.96, Ajinomoto climbed 32 sen to RM13.28 and United Plantations rose 30 sen to RM30.50.
On the forex market, the ringgit slipped 0.3% against the US dollar to 3.9783 and edged down 0.08% versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1096.
Regionally, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index fell 1.02%, with most regional markets finishing lower.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.47% lower at 64,693.12 while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.53%, at 8,185.29.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 1.27%, at 25,006.16 and Taiwan’s Taiex gave up 1.4% to 43,636.44.
China’s CSI300 index edged up 0.12% to 4,914.21, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.12% at 4,098.64 points.
