KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed marginally lower on Friday, as cautious sentiment persisted, with investors remaining on the sidelines amid ongoing conflicts in West Asia, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.80 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 1,695.50 from Thursday’s close of 1,698.30. The benchmark index opened 5.82 points higher at 1,704.12, and moved between 1,693.65 and 1,708.12 throughout the day. However, market breadth remained positive, with gainers outnumbering losers 634 to 415, while 521 counters were unchanged, 1,077 untraded and 10 suspended. Turnover improved to 3.38 billion units worth RM2.95 billion from yesterday’s 3.20 billion units worth RM3.50 billion.
The FBM KLCI rose 23.47 points or 1.4%, tracking regional share gains as a crude oil price rise buoyed sentiment.
The crude oil futures extended gains thanks to a weaker dollar and speculation on talks among oil producers on a potentially meeting to discuss output cuts.
Below are some of the top movers in the index.
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| Top movers in FBM KLCI |
Hubline Bhd was the most-actively traded stock. Today's biggest gainers were Nestle (M) Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, and Sime Darby Bhd.
The biggest decliners included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd.
Despite the rally in the index, analysts were mindful of the sustainability of the index's advance.
Asian share indices gained. In China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.01%, while the Shanghai Composite was up 1.53%. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.35%.
Japan's Nikkei 225, however, fell 0.85%.
Asian shares rallied on Thursday as speculation the US Federal Reserve might opt to not raise interest rates at all this year hammered the dollar and sparked a huge rally in oil prices, Reuters reported.
Japanese investors, however, seemed less happy with the yen's newfound strength against the dollar and nudged the Nikkei lower.
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