KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed lower today due to a carryover of yesterday's losses, influenced by mixed global cues and a decline in crude oil prices.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 2.60 points to 1,453.29 from Wednesday's closing of 1,455.89.
The index started the day with a slight improvement of 0.79 points at 1,456.68 and then fluctuated between 1,451.35 and 1,456.68 for the rest of the trading session.
On the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 532 to 417, while 423 counters were unchanged.
Turnover increased to 3.71 billion units valued at RM2.08 billion against 2.97 billion units valued at RM2.04 billion yesterday.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said despite a broad-based rally in US stocks overnight, Asia markets put in a very mixed performance, with the KLCI trading lower on an extension of yesterday's profit-taking mode.
He added that today's negative catalyst was the fall in US jobless claims that suggests the Fed will not be so eager to cut rates anywhere as soon as the market thinks.
"Locally, macro inputs were absent to encourage any favourable momentum," he told Business Times.
Innes also noted that tomorrow is a US Thanksgiving holiday, but in market terms, it's more of an international break as most traders take off the next few days. Therefore, he expects markets to be quiet unless there is an unforeseen event.
