KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI extended its decline on Wednesday, breaching the 1,600 psychological support level amid weakness in the broader market.
The benchmark index closed down 4.16 points, or 0.26% to 1,598.18 after rising to an intraday high of 1,606.28.
There were 457 gainers, 546 losers and 527 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia. Turnover stood at 2.72 billion shares valued at RM2.44bil.
Among the decliners, Nestle tumbled 94 sen to RM98, F&N fell 38 sen to RM28.32, PPB Group lost 20 sen to RM13.80 and PGF Capital declined 20 sen to RM2.05.
Conversely, United Plantations rose 24 sen to RM31.02, Gamuda added 19 sen to RM9.08, Oriental Holdings advanced 17 sen to RM7.53 and Hon Leong Industries climbed 16 sen to RM14.26.
Cape EMS, the most active counter on Bursa Malaysia, fell 2.5 sen, or 6.49% to 36 sen with 118.24 million shares done.
On the forex market, the ringgit was up 0.12% against the greenback to 4.4672.
US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 33 cents to US$69.72 and Brent added 30 cents to US$73.61 per barrel.
On the external front, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.23%.
Key gauges across the region closed broadly higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.16%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.21%, South Korea’s Kospi closed up 0.42% and China’s CSI 300 Index gained 0.22%.
