KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI ended lower on Tuesday, dragged down by last-minute selling pressure.
At 5 pm, the benchmark index closed down 1.7 points, or 0.11% at 1,602.34 after moving between its intraday high of 1,608.88 and low of 1,601.02.
There were 565 gainers against 438 decliners while 502 counters were unchanged. About 2.83 billion shares, valued at RM2.08bil, changed hands.
According to Bursa Malaysia data, foreign investors and local retailers sold RM11mil and RM6mil worth of local equities, respectively, on Monday, while local institutions acquired RM17mil.
Among the losers on Bursa Malaysia, United Plantations slid 32 sen to RM30.78, Heineken fell 22 sen to RM23.42, PETRONAS Dagangan lost 16 sen to RM17.84 and Hong Leong Bank declined 14 sen to RM20.60.
F&N, the top gainer on Bursa Malaysia, rose by 40 sen to RM28.70. Ajinomoto gained 26 sen to RM15.14, Hong Leong Industries climbed 24 sen to RM14.10 and Edaran added 20 sen to RM1.80.
On the forex market, the ringgit was up 0.3% against the greenback to 4.4657. The local currency is down 0.1% against the Singapore dollar at 3.3364.
Reuters reported that the ringgit is the only Asian currency that has gained so far this year, as the Malaysian economy stays on track to meet official forecasts, reflecting a jump in investments and a boost in domestic spending.
On the external front, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.51% to close at 38,414.43 while South Korea’s Kospi ended 0.12% higher at 2,471.95.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.44% at 19,663.67 and China’s CSI 300 Index rose 0.67% to 3,976.89.
Reuters reported that Singapore shares jumped to a 17-year high on Tuesday, powered by a rally in index heavyweight financials, as the city-state ramps up efforts to revive its stock market.
The Straits Times Index rose as much as 0.9% to touch a level unseen since November 2007. It has gained 16% so far this year, outperforming most of its rivals in the region, Reuters reported.
