KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia succumbed to heavy selling pressure today with almost 800 counters in red, in line with regional bourses.

       At 5pm, the FBM KLCI closed 5.73 points, or 0.36% lower at 1,576.96. It has risen to an intraday high of 1,581.05.

       Market sentiment was weak, with 779 losers outpacing 286 gainers while 378 counters traded unchanged. Turnover was at 4.33 billion shares valued at RM3.16bil.

       Dealers said investors were in a selling mood following the recent rally and market sentiment was also affected by the geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

       According to data on Bursa Malaysia, foreign investors continued to buy into local stocks on Monday, acquiring RM42mil worth of equities.

       Local institutions sold equities worth RM171mil while retailers bought RM129mil.

       Among the losers on Bursa Malaysia, MPI fell 80 sen to RM34.90, Batu Kawan lost 76 sen to RM24.50, KESM shed 62 sen to RM10.22 and Heineken declined 32 sen to RM21.72.

       PMB Technology added 52 sen to RM19.40, Nestle rose 40 sen to RM136.40 and Malaysia Smelting Corp gained 29 sen to RM4.69.

       Among the banks, Maybank fell eight sen to RM8.72, Public Bank declined three sen to RM4.34, CIMB lost seven sen to RM5.50, RHB Bank eased four sen to RM5.66 and Hong Leong Bank eased 10 sen to RM19.90.

       Among the key regional markets:

       Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 1.71% to 26,449.61;

       Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 2.69% to 23,520.00;

       Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.96% to 3,457.15;

       Taiwan’s Taiex shed 1.38% to 17,969.29;

       South Korea’s Kospi closed down 1.35% to 2,706.79 and;

       Singapore’s Straits Times Index lost 1.11% to 3,398.23 points.