KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed lower on Friday as buying interest shifted from index heavyweights to smaller-cap technology and telecommunications stocks as well as real estate investment trusts (REITs). At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 15.94 points, or 0.98 per cent, to 1,607.76 from Thursday’s close of 1,623.70. The benchmark index, which opened 1.13 points higher at 1,624.83, moved between 1,602.98 and 1,626.34 throughout the session. On the broader market, gainers outnumbered decliners 597 to 470, while 518 counters were unchanged, 1,258 untraded and 33 suspended. Turnover rose 3.13 billion units worth RM3.27 billion from 3.06 billion units worth RM3.03 billion on Thursday.
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 29): The FBM KLCI rose for the third consecutive day today, rising 0.47% or 7.63 points to close at 1,637.93.
The broader market, however, was mixed with trading remaining subdued as most investors were staying away during this year-end holiday season.
Mercury Securities Sdn Bhd research head Edmund Tham said the local stock market is still performing below expectations.
"The sentiment is not that great as we speak and the market today is still not very sound," he said when contacted over the phone. "Trade volumes have yet to fully recover and we might only see some recovery once traders are back from the year-end break."
"However, the ringgit is stabilising, with oil prices hovering between US$53 (RM237.68) and US$54 per barrel. For starters, this is an advantage to us as we are an oil-exporting country," he added.
Going forward, he said investors are expected to pay close attention to the construction industry, especially sector players bidding for infrastructure jobs from the government.
There were 370 gainers and 371 losers on Bursa Malaysia today. A total of 1.77 billion shares valued at RM1.4 billion were traded.
The top three active counters were Sumatec Resources Bhd, Borneo Oil Bhd and Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd.
Reuters today reported that shares across Asian markets were subdued in view of the mild setback faced by Wall Street following weeks of gains, while a pullback in US yields stimulated year-end profit-taking in the US dollar.
Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.32%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.17%, and South Korea's Kospi nudged 0.1% higher.
Source: The Edge
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