KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI snapped a three-day winning streak on Wednesday as investors took profits off the table following recent gains, despite positive broader market breadth.
The market barometer fell 5.29 points, or 0.33%, to 1,616.56, after trading between an intraday high of 1,623.31 and a low of 1,614.34.
Market breadth was positive, with 646 gainers outpacing 441 losers, while 519 counters were unchanged. Trading volume stood at 2.817 billion shares worth RM2.575bil.
Among the decliners, Nestle tumbled RM2.38 to RM93.50, Mega Fortris declined 33 sen to RM2.54, Heineken shed 26 sen to RM13 and F&N dropped 24 sen to RM20.96.
Carlsberg slipped 20 sen to RM12.74, while Maybank eased 14 sen to RM9.90.
Technology and semiconductor stocks dominated Bursa Malaysia's top gainers list, led by Malaysian Pacific Industries
, which rose RM1.12 to RM40.62, ViTrox gained 48 sen to RM10.90, UWC added 32 sen to RM7.20 and Pentamaster advanced 31 sen to RM5.58.
Other gainers included KESM, which climbed 21 sen to RM4.65, and Mi Technovation, which rose 19 sen to RM6.39.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the US dollar fell to a one-month low on Wednesday as the Democrats' capture of Congress raised concerns over tighter AI regulations that could weigh on US economic growth.
The ringgit strengthened 0.21% against the US dollar to 4.0670 and edged up 0.04% against the Singapore dollar to 3.1812.
The local currency, however, weakened 0.27% against the euro to 4.5732 and edged 0.22% lower against the pound sterling at 5.4811.
The Democrats' sweep of Congress could weigh on the US dollar by raising the prospect of fiscal gridlock and tighter scrutiny of the AI sector, said Stephen Innes.
However, he cautioned against reading too much into the election outcome, noting that US monetary policy remained the key driver of the greenback.
"Political headlines can move currencies in minutes; changing the underlying interest-rate differential generally requires something more substantial," he said.
Meanwhile, Brent crude climbed 28 cents, or 0.27% to US$103.88 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 26 cents, or 0.27%, to US$96.35 per barrel.
On the external front, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index rose 0.33%.
Among regional gainers, China’s CSI300 index rose 2.31% to 4,101.34, while the Shanghai Composite gained 2.16% to 3,686.17.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.67% to 23,919.50, while South Korea’s Kospi added 0.62% to 5,683.80.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.42% to 62,188.63, while Taiwan’s Taiex declined 0.83% to 42,948.91.
