KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia continued its decline, finishing slightly lower today, on diminished buying interest amid a mixed performance in regional markets.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 3.75 points to 1,456.92 from Friday's closing of 1,460.67.
Opening 0.41 points lower at its intraday high of 1,460.26, the index later declined to an intraday low of 1,454.12 during the morning session.
On the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers at 499 versus 395, while 457 counters were unchanged.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI closed marginally lower due to lack of buying interest amid the mixed performance of regional markets.
He believes that investors are trading cautiously given the absence of compelling buying incentives in the face of the current nervous market sentiment, heightened by global market risks and volatility.
"Nevertheless, bargain hunting may come into play due to the benchmark index's inexpensive valuations.
"We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,450 to 1,470 for the week," he told Business Times.
Thong added that key regional indices trended mixed, with notable increases in the China and Hong Kong markets.
He said this came after the People's Bank of China adhered to market expectations by maintaining its loan prime rate near record lows and injecting around CN¥80 billion of liquidity into the markets.
"Meanwhile other regional markets ended marginally lower as investors are cautious ahead of the minutes of the US Fed's late-October meeting, which were due on Tuesday," he said.