KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI ended the day in negative territory in line with declines in regional markets, as sentiment was affected by the hawkish Fed minutes.

       At 5pm, the benchmark index lost 3.93 points, or 0.24% to 1,600.79.

       The broader market sagged, with decliners overtaking advancers 597 to 387 while 422 counters were unchanged. Trading volume stood at 3.33 billion units worth RM2.53bil.

       Dealers said the prospects of bigger US rate hikes fuelled worries about a slowdown in global economic growth.

       The Fed raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on March 16.

       Several US Federal Reserve officials supported raising interest rates by half a percentage point in the future to combat inflation, the minutes of the Fed's March 15-16 meeting showed.

       On Bursa Malaysia, Nestle fell RM1.40 to RM134.10, Malaysian Pacific Industries lost RM1.20 to RM35.50, F&N shed 34 sen and PPB eased 30 sen to RM16.96.

       Heineken added 44 sen to RM23, Batu Kawan rose 40 sen to RM27, Carlsberg advanced 38 sen to RM22.20 and Berjaya Food gained 21 sen to RM3.93.

       In terms of fund flows, foreigners and local retailers emerged as net buyers on Wednesday. Foreigners acquired RM84mil while retailers bought RM12mil worth of equities.

       Local institutions offloaded equities worth RM95mil.

       Meanwhile, the ringgit was quoted at 4.2175, down 0.08% against the US dollar.

       US light crude oil rose 13 cents to US$96.36 and Brent advanced 14 cents to US$101.21 per barrel.

       On the external front, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was lower by 1.37%.

       Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 1.69% to 26,888.57 while South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.43%, at 2,695.86.

       Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended 1.23% lower at 21,808.98.

       China’s CSI300 index fell 1.28%, to 4,209.10 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.42% to 3,236.70.