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.
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 13): The FBM KLCI pared gains it made earlier in the day — supported by oil producing countries’ decision to reduce crude oil output — to close 3.86 points or 0.24% higher at 1,645.28 points.
Earlier in the day, the benchmark index gained as much as 10.03 points or 0.61% to touch an intraday high of 1,651.45, as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC countries’ deal to cut output had supported crude oil prices and the ringgit.
“News of the cut in oil output had supported the ringgit and the KLCI earlier in the day, but there seems to be pressure building on the Chinese renminbi with an increase in short positions.
“This resulted in the weakening of the ringgit, which also caused the index to pare the gains it made earlier in the day,” said Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew.
At the time of writing, the ringgit has weakened 0.28% to trade at 4.4370 against the U.S. dollar.
Across the board, some 1.33 billion shares worth RM1.73 billion were exchanged today on the local bourse, with gainers beating decliners at 418 versus 322.
Gainers were led by Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, while Apollo Food Holdings Bhd topped decliners. The most actively-traded stock was Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.5% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and South Korea’s Kospi retreated 1.37% and 0.66% respectively.
Reuters reported Asian shares and the dollar were on tenterhooks on Tuesday, as the Federal Reserve prepares to review rates later in the day, with financial markets focused on how the Fed steers monetary policy in the wake of Republican Donald Trump's surprise election win last month.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was nearly flat in late afternoon trading, it said.
Source: The Edge
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