KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia's turnover value climbed above RM10bil on Friday, even as the FBM KLCI closed lower for a fourth straight session.
The local bourse underperformed its regional peers, most of which advanced amid positive sentiment as the corporate earnings reporting season drew to a close.
The FBM KLCI fell 1.86 points, or 0.11%, to close at 1,683.07. The benchmark index traded within a 14.06-point range during the session, touching an intraday high of 1,694.65 and a low of 1,680.59.
For the week, the FBM KLCI declined 1.72%, while it ended the month 2.26% lower.
Turnover remained robust, with 4.94 billion shares changing hands for a total value of RM10.47bil. Across the broader market, 680 counters advanced, 512 declined and 529 were unchanged.
Leading the decliners were Nestle, which plunged RM4 to RM91, Allianz, down 40 sen to RM21.52, Malayan Cement, which lost 35 sen to RM6.54, and Hong Leong Bank, which slipped 30 sen to RM20.88.
In contrast, Hong Leong Industries gained 62 sen to RM19.00, Ajinomoto rose 58 sen to RM13.86, United Plantations advanced 58 sen to RM31.08, and Carlsberg added 48 sen to RM17.18.
Market data showed foreign investors remained net sellers on Thursday, with a net outflow of RM397mil.
Local institutions and retail investors helped cushion the selling pressure, recording net purchases of RM192mil and RM205mil, respectively.
Meanwhile, the ringgit strengthened 0.22% against the US dollar to 3.9700 and gained 0.15% against the Singapore dollar to 3.1057.
The local currency also rose 0.08% against the euro to 4.6172 and advanced 0.12% against the pound sterling to 5.3244.
Regionally, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index rose 1.7%, with several markets hitting record highs.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 2.53% to a record of 66,329.50;
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.7% to 25,182.39;
China’s CSI300 Index declined 0.45% to 4,892.12;
Taiwan’s Taiex gained 2.51% to 44,732.94;
South Korea’s Kospi advanced 3.55% to a record high of 8,476.15 and;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.9% to 5,037.86 points.
