KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI ended lower on Friday to mark another weekly decline as banking and plantation stocks weighed against a backdrop of weak regional markets.

       At 5pm, the FBM KLCI had dipped 7.28 points, or 0.47% to 1,532.06. The index earlier rose to a high of 1,543.35. The index shed1.06% for the week.

       Losers edged gainers by 561 to 425, while 475 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume stood at 4.79 billion shares worth RM3.34bil.

       Plantation and banking stocks went through some profit-taking activities.

       Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 34 sen to RM19.84, Sime Darby Plantation lost six sen to RM3.61, IOI Corp declined two sen to RM3.75 and Hap Seng dropped two sen to RM8.22.

       CIMB fell six sen to RM4.81, Maybank shed five sen to RM8.10, RHB Bank declined three sen to RM5.45 and Public Bank lost two sen to RM4.04.

       On the broader market, SAM Engineering surged RM1.10 to RM20.60, OM Holdings jumped 72 sen to RM3.13 and ViTrox added 50 sen to RM20.50.

       Bursa Malaysia Securities has queried Sam Engineering following the recent sharp rise in the price and volume of its shares.

       The regulator advised investors to take note of the company’s reply to the unusual market activity (UMA) query when making their investment decision.

       On the other hand, Genetec tumbled RM1.56 to RM37.94, MPI fell 44 sen to RM45.20 and Dutch Lady declined 30 sen to RM32.70.

       On the external front, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.31%.

       Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 2.06% to end at 30,248.81 and South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.075% at 3,125.24.

       China’s Shanghai Composite index was down 0.8% at 3,613.07 points while the CSI300 index fell 0.08% to 4,849.43.