KUALA LUMPUR: Profit-taking after three consecutive sessions of gains, coupled with a broad regional sell-off, left the FBM KLCI little changed on Tuesday as investors turned cautious.
At the close, the market barometer was little changed, slipping 0.6 of a point, or 0.04%, to 1,682.93. The index traded within a 7.25-point range, touching an intraday high of 1,684.19 and a low of 1,676.94.
There were 410 gainers, 577 losers and 573 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia. Turnover stood at 2.7 billion shares valued at RM2.05bil.
Dealers said sentiment remained cautious as investors locked in gains following the recent advance, tracking broad-based weakness across Asian equities.
A dealer said foreign fund outflows also capped upside despite selective institutional buying.
Among the decliners, Allianz lost 50 sen to RM20.60, Dutch Lady
slid 40 sen to RM32, ViTrox declined 15 sen to RM7.48 and PPB Group fell 14 sen to RM9.36.
On the other hand, F&N gained 56 sen to RM29.66, Batu Kawan added 32 sen to RM21.50, PETRONAS Gas rose 30 sen to RM17.80 and United Plantations climbed 24 sen to RM33.74.
Newly listed RNG Tech was the most actively traded stock on Bursa Malaysia, with 110.4 million shares changing hands. The operator of the "Rest N Go" vending massage chair business closed unchanged at 13 sen.
Meanwhile, foreign investors remained net sellers, offloading RM85mil worth of equities. Local institutions and retail investors were net buyers, with net purchases of RM11mil and RM74mil, respectively.
Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index fell 1.96%, with most regional bourses ending lower.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 2.12% at 68,256.96 and South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 4.91% to 7,656.31.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 index fell 1.03% to 4,792.26 while the Shanghai Composite Index slid 1.26% to 3,990.24.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.51% to 23,496.89 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 1.43% to 5,335.0.
