KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI extended its losing streak for a fourth straight session as weakness in blue chips, cautious market sentiment and mixed regional cues weighed on the benchmark index.
The market bellwether ended the session 3.91 points, or 0.23%, lower at 1,731.46, easing from its intraday high of 1,738.21.
Gainers and losers were closely balanced, with 562 gainers against 581 losers and 585 that were flat. About 3.44 billion shares, valued at RM2.94bil, changed hands.
United Plantations slid 68 sen to RM33.20, Batu Kawan eased 52 sen to RM20.88, PETRONAS Dagangan lost 34 sen to RM19 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong declined 32 sen to RM21.52.
Among the gainers, Nestle jumped RM3 to RM102.60, Hong Leong Bank rose 42 sen to RM22.74, SAM Engineering gained 25 sen to RM4.58 and Heineken climbed 20 sen to RM17.06.
A dealer said trading was choppy, with bouts of selling interspersed with buying interest as investors remained cautious.
“Buying support emerged intermittently, helping to cushion the downside, but overall sentiment remained cautious as investors continued to take profit following the market’s recent gains,” the dealer said.
On the forex market, the ringgit strengthened 0.13% against the US dollar to 4.0728 and edged up 0.13% versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1943.
Foreign investors and retailers each sold a net RM53mil of Malaysian equities on Monday, while local institutions were net buyers at RM106mil.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil rose US$1.84, or 2.1%, to US$89.56 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate crude added US$1.85, or 2.25%, at US$83.98 per barrel.
Regionally, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index declined 0.05%, while regional markets finished mixed.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 2.08% to 66,970.22, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.73% to 6,345.53, while Taiwan’s benchmark index gained 0.43% to 45,120.72.
Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times Index rose as much as 1.3% to a record high of 5,774.21 before paring gains to close 0.82% higher, marking its third straight session of gains.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.01% to 25,675.82.
In China, the CSI300 Index declined 0.81% to 4,663.79, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.82% to 3,934.09.
