KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI ended marginally higher as investors remained cautious amid a regional market sell-off and ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia's overnight policy rate (OPR) decision tomorrow.
Bank Negara is widely expected to leave the OPR unchanged at 2.75% on Thursday, with economists surveyed by Bloomberg and Reuters expecting the central bank to stay on hold.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI closed up 0.68 of-a-point at 1,683.61 after moving between an intraday high of 1,690.57 and a low of 1,679.30.
Market breadth remained weak, with 460 gainers outpaced by 627 losers, while 506 counters were unchanged on Bursa Malaysia. Almost three billion shares worth RM2.18bil changed hands.
Dealers said buying interest was interspersed with profit-taking, resulting in range-bound trading throughout the session.
The benchmark index was supported by selective accumulation in index-linked heavyweights, although market breadth remained negative.
Among the gainers, United Plantations rose 60 sen to RM34.34, followed by Allianz, which added 38 sen to RM20.98. Nestle gained 30 sen to RM91.10, while PETRONAS Chemicals advanced 22 sen to RM4.47.
Technology stocks are among the decliners, with UMS Integration sliding 32 sen to RM7.80, Pentamaster falling 19 sen to RM4.54, Malaysian Pacific Industries
losing 14 sen to RM45.70 and Unisem declining 12 sen to RM4.46.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was quoted at 4.0770 against the US dollar, down 0.15%. Against the Singapore dollar, the local currency edged up 0.03% to 3.1498.
On the external front, Asian markets were mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 2.11% to 66,819.05, while South Korea's Kospi tumbled 5.35% to 7,246.79.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 2.99% to 24,199.46 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.6% to 5,374.43.
China's CSI300 and Shanghai Composite eased 0.77% to 4,755.53 and 0.49% to 3,970.88, respectively.
