KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended marginally lower on Monday amid selling activity as the market lacked fresh catalysts to spur investors’ buying interest, an analyst said. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 1.60 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 1,670.02, from Friday’s close of 1,671.62. The benchmark index, which opened 0.93 of-a-point higher at 1,672.55, moved between 1,668.61 and 1,674.11 throughout the trading session. Market breadth was negative as losers surpassed gainers 748 to 388, while 517 counters were unchanged, 1,271 untraded and 91 suspended. Turnover slipped to 3.11 billion units worth RM2.40 billion from 4.07 billion units valued at RM2.69 billion on Friday.
KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 20): The FBM KLCI closed 3.08 points or 0.17% lower at 1,773.58 points today, weighed by declines at CIMB Group Holdings Bhd.
AmInvestment Bank retail research vice president Lim Sai Wai told theedgemarkets.com that other than the drag from CIMB, the index was relatively flat today.
"It's quite obvious it's because of CIMB, and it takes time for traders to digest the news," said Lim.
He was referring to CIMB's confirmation that its Japanese shareholder Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) has sold its entire stake of 412 million shares, equivalent to a 4.6% stake in the group, via an overnight block trade.
The banking group, however, did not say as to who the buyers were, nor how much the stake were sold for. On Bursa Malaysia, CIMB shares declined 15 sen or 2.32% to close at RM6.31, after dropping as low as RM6.22 earlier in the day.
"Apart from that, the general market [is seeing] more losers, but the small cap index closed positive. It is on the verge of recovering above a major resistance level," Lim added.
Today, Bursa Malaysia saw 3.15 billion shares, worth RM2.38 billion, traded. There were 352 gainers compared to 432 decliners.
KESM Industries Bhd topped the gainers list, closing 6.11% higher at RM15.98, while Far East Holdings Bhd led the decliners as it fell 6.12% to settle at RM9.20.
Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd was the most active counter, with over 416.67 million shares traded. It closed 39.78% higher at 65 sen.
Across Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.05%, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.16% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.27%.
Reuters reported that Japanese stocks were nearly flat on Wednesday after scaling highs not seen in more than two years on Tuesday, as investors stayed cautious before the completion of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting later today.
Traders said investors stayed on the sidelines as they awaited signals from the Fed on when it will hike rates again and start shrinking its balance sheet, said Reuters.
The US central bank is expected to announce when it will begin paring its bond holdings, and while a September interest rate increase is not expected, investors will closely study Fed Chair Janet Yellen's views on inflation for clues to whether the Fed will raise rates in December, the news agency added.
Source: The Edge
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