KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended slightly lower after a lacklustre trading session as investors exercised caution amid volatile sentiment across the region.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) closed at 1,624.25, declined 1.32 points or 0.08 per cent, from Wednesday's close at 1,625.57.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 654 to 442, while 483 counters unchanged. Turnover was at 3.51 billion shares valued at RM2.71 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Malaysian equities closed broadly lower after a lacklustre trading session where the FBM KLCI trended in a tight range as investors exercised caution amid volatile sentiment across the region.
"The key index stucked in consolidation mode due to cautious trading given the increasing global volatility and uncertainty," he said.
He added that buying interest was seen in the technology, energy, and banks sectors.
Looking forward, Thong said the benchmark index needs to break above the resistance at 1,630 to regain bullish momentum whereby a decisive breakout or breakdown from this range, accompanied by significant volume, will provide clearer direction for the index.
Until then, he said cautious trading is advisable and traders should keep an eye on market catalysts that could influence the next significant move.
"If the index manages to close above this level with strong volume, it could target the next resistance at 1,650.
"Conversely, failure to break this resistance could see the index consolidating further within the 1,610 to 1,630 range," he added.
Thong expects the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,620 to 1,630 towards the weekend.
On key regional indices, he said the indices finished mixed due to varied expectations regarding a US rate cut.
Meanwhile, Japan stocks dropped sharply after the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate to around 0.25 per cent, the highest level since 2008.
According to him, investors across the region are assessing business activity data from various areas, focusing on July purchasing managers index numbers from China, Japan and South Korea.