KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI spent most of the trading session vacillating between gains and losses on Wednesday before closing firmer, lifted by last-minute buying.
Overall market sentiment, however, remained cautious as investors are waiting for the overnight policy rate (OPR) announcement by Bank Negara tomorrow.
At 5pm, the 30-stock index closed 14.15 points, or 0.89% higher at 597.63 after rising to an intraday high of 1,597.63.
The broader market displayed its weakness as decliners outpaced advancers by a wide margin, with 707 losers against 374 gainers and 426 counters unchanged. Traded volumes stood at 5.91 billion shares valued at RM3.23bil.
Sungei Bagan Rubber was the top gainer on Bursa Malaysia, jumping 51 sen to RM3.71, followed by Kuala Lumpur Kepong, which added 50 sen to RM21.50, Kluang Rubber, which rose 49 sen to RM4.50 and Westports added 39 sen to RM4.74.
The decliners included MPI, Panasonic Manufacturing, Genetec and Khind.
Among the banks, Maybank added four sen to RM8.31, Public Bank rose five sen to RM4.15 and Hong Leong Bank gained two sen to RM18.92.
RHB Bank and CIMB climbed three sen each to RM5.50 and RM4.94 respectively.
Hartalega fell 23 sen to RM6.68, Petronas Dagangan shed 16 sen to RM19.80, Top Glove declined nine sen to RM3.58 and MR DIY lost four sen to RM3.89.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was quoted at 4.1578, down 0.06% against the US dollar. The local currency was up 0.32% against the euro at 4.9149. It is up 0.43% against the pound sterling at 5.7176. It was up 0.18% against the Singapore dollar at 3.0877.
US light crude oil rose 35 cents to US$68.70 and Brent added 28 cents to US$71.97 per barrel.
Reuters reported that Bitcoin paused for breath after plunging 17% on Monday to a low of around US$43,000 before recovering. It was last at US$46,300, down a more modest 1.24%.
Meanwhile, regional markets closed mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 delivered a 0.89% gain to settle at 30,181.21, while South Korea’s Kospi closed down 0.77% at 3,162.99.
China’s CSI 300 also slid 0.4% to 4,972.13, while the Shanghai Composite Index was flat at 3,675.19 points.