KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI finished lower for the second straight session, on selling in selected blue-chip stocks.
At the close, the FBM KLCI declined 7.45 points, or 0.45% to 1,635.32, recovering from an intraday low of 1,633.64.
There were 508 gainers, 573 losers, and 502 counters traded unchanged in Bursa Malaysia. Turnover stood at 3.3 billion shares valued at RM2.9bil.
Among the KLCI component stocks, 20 counters finished lower while eight chalked up gains.
Stock market data showed that foreign investors acquired a net RM266mil on Monday. Local institutions and retailers were net sellers, offloading equities worth RM210mil and RM56mil, respectively.
Dealers expect market sentiment to remain cautious as investors await Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming later this week.
The top loser on Bursa Malaysia was Malaysian Pacific Industries
, which tumbled 70 sen, or 1.89% to RM36.30. YSP Southeast Asia slid 35 sen to RM2.42, PPB lost 34 sen to RM14.16 and Hong Leong Financial Group fell 20 sen to RM17.96.
Meanwhile, the top gainer was PETRONAS Dagangan, which rose RM1.12 to RM19.74. LPI added 46 sen to RM13.34, F&N gained 32 sen to RM29.58 and Lysaght Galvanized climbed 27 sen to RM2.87.
On the forex market, the ringgit was up 0.14% against the greenback to 4.3752.
Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 0.29%, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.17%, China’s CSI300 Index fell 0.33% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed down 0.69%.
