KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index closed lower today, in line with most regional markets, as investors adjusted their risk exposure amid spiralling oil prices driven by the ongoing West Asia conflict, now in its second month. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) retreated by 24.75 points or 1.44 per cent to 1,687.90 from Friday’s close of 1,712.65. The market bellwether opened 10.57 points weaker at 1,702.08 and fluctuated between 1,682.79 and 1,702.38. The broader market was bearish, with decliners thumping advancers 956 to 371. A total of 373 counters were unchanged, 1,042 untraded and 134 suspended. Turnover expanded to 3.98 billion units worth RM4.85 billion from last Friday’s 2.97 billion units worth RM3.25 billion.
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27): Malaysian stocks closed higher on the first trading day after the long Christmas break, lifted by selected blue chips.
At closing bell, the key FBM KLCI gained 2.53 points or 0.16% to end the day at 1,619.68 points versus last Friday's closing of 1,617.15 points.
The rise in the index could be partially attributed to the increase in share price of British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT), PPB Group Bhd and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK), which were among the top gainers today.
"This is the final week of the year and I am expecting some late window dressing," TA Securities Holdings Bhd senior technical analyst Stephen Soo told theedgemarkets.com over the phone.
Technically, he said the index fell to a low of near to 1,616 points, signalling that the downside of the key index was mostly cushioned.
"Hence, I am looking for some potential window dressing by the local funds towards the end of the year," he added.
He expects the benchmark index to trade in the range of 1,685 points to 1,729 points towards the end of the year.
A total of 1.09 billion shares worth RM1.03 billion changed hands today. Market breadth was slightly negative, with 375 losers versus 333 gainers and 336 counters were traded unchanged.
The top gainers were led by BAT, which gained 56 sen to settle at RM43.06, while the top loser was Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd, falling 94 sen to close at RM77.40.
The most actively traded stock was Borneo Oil Bhd, inching up 0.5 sen to close at 18.5 sen, with 65.41 million shares traded.
Mixed performance was seen across the regional key indices. South Korea's Kospi settled 0.22% higher and Japan's Nikkei 225 inched up marginally by 0.03%. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.28%, while Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.25% lower.
Source: The Edge
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