KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI slumped to its lowest in over seven weeks on Friday led by losses at key index-linked stocks including Kuala Lumpur Kepong (KLK), Petronas Dagangan (PetDag) and Press Metal.

       At 5pm, the benchmark index lost 18.64 points to 1,564.34, its lowest since March 15. The index had earlier fallen to a low of 1,563.93.

       The broader market sagged, with decliners overtaking advancers 768 to 274 while 367 counters were unchanged. Activities were encouraging with 3.1 billion shares worth RM2.43bil changed hands.

       Dealers expect sideways trading in the next few sessions, with investors adopting a waiting game ahead of the overnight policy rate (OPR) and first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) announcements next week.

       Among the FBM KLCI component stocks, KLK tumbled 90 sen to RM28, PetDag lost 58 sen to RM21.02, Press Metal shed 46 sen to RM5.38 and PPB Group fell 42 sen to RM16.64.

       Nestle rose 60 sen to RM131.80, Petronas Gas advanced 12 sen to RM16.84, Telekom Malaysia added four sen to RM4.88 and Axiata gained three sen to RM3.43.

       Among the banks, Maybank rose one sen to RM9, CIMB added one sen to RM5.12, RHB Bank gained two sen to RM6.07, Public Bank lost four sen to RM4.59 and Hong Leong Bank was unchanged at RM20.70.

       Favelle Favco, the second top gainer on Bursa Malaysia, jumped 59 sen, or 22.87% to RM3.17, its highest since late 2014.

       The company has declared a first interim tax-exempt dividend of 85.0 sen per ordinary share in respect of the financial year ending Dec 31, 2022.

       The ex-date of the dividend is May 25 and the payment on June 10.

       Meanwhile, US light crude oil rose US$2.09 to US$110.35 and Brent added US$2.18 to US$113.08 per barrel.