KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended lower on Wednesday as investors locked in profits after a three-day rally, with the benchmark FBM KLCI retreating despite gains in most regional markets.
The FBM KLCI fell 6.18 points, or 0.36%, to 1,713.76. The benchmark index traded within an 11.95-point range between its intraday high of 1,724.83 and low of 1,712.88.
On the broader market, gainers trounced losers by 590 to 475, while 604 counters were unchanged. About 4.08 billion shares, valued at RM2.84bil, changed hands.
Dealers said the market experienced bouts of profit-taking after three consecutive sessions of gains, although selective buying in heavyweight technology and semiconductor stocks helped cushion the broader decline.
Semiconductor and technology stocks were among the top gainers on Bursa Malaysia. Malaysian Pacific Industries
jumped RM1.34 to RM45.74, UMS Integration added 30 sen to RM8.31, Pentamaster gained 29 sen to RM4.94 and ViTrox climbed 21 sen to RM7.69.
Other gainers included Nestle, which climbed RM1.50 to RM92.00, Kluang Rubber, up 35 sen to RM6.45, and Allianz, which added 28 sen to RM20.92.
On the other hand, Batu Kawan eased 38 sen to RM21.32, LPI Capital fell 38 sen to RM15, PETRONAS Gas lost 26 sen to RM17.62 and PETRONAS Chemicals slid 21 sen to RM4.58.
ACE Market debutant Enest Group closed down 19.2%, or 2.5 sen to 10.5 sen. It was among the most active counters on Bursa Malaysia with 79.4 million shares traded.
On the forex front, the ringgit strengthened 0.01% against the US dollar to 4.0775. It edged down 0.06% against the Singapore dollar to 3.1569.
The local currency weakened 0.18% against the euro to 4.6577 and edged 0.11% lower against the pound sterling at 5.4616.
Meanwhile, Brent crude rose 67 cents, or 0.79%, to US$85.40 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 60 cents or 0.76%, to US$79.94 per barrel.
Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index rose 2.39%, with most regional bourses ending higher.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 1.49% at 68,751.51 while South Korea’s Kospi surged 6.24% to 7,284.41.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 1.4% to 24,681.10 and Singapore Straits Times Index rose 1.06% to 5,554.03.
