KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia's benchmark index closed marginally higher, in line with the positive performance across the region.
At 5pm today, the FBM-KLCI was at 1,612.35 up 2.83 points from Tuesday's close of 1,609.52.
There were 574 gainers, 439 losers and 531 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia.
Turnover was at 3.572 billion shares valued at RM2.514 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said most key regional indices ended higher, following overnight gains on Wall Street, as a soft producer inflation report fuelled expectations that the Federal Reserve might begin cutting rates in September.
On the domestic side, Thong said the firm is cautiously optimistic and is closely monitoring economic data from the US and China to gauge the local market's direction, which is greatly influenced by these global economic powerhouses.
"At this time, we expect the benchmark to remain in consolidation mode, pending a breakout above the 1,620 level, given the decline in daily volume to below 5 billion."
"As such, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to fluctuate within the 1,600-1,620 range throughout the week," he told the Business Times.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd was flat at RM10.20, Public Bank Bhd slid 4.0 sen to RM4.22, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd eased 1.0 sen RM7.40, while IHH Healthcare Bhd rose 1.0 sen to RM6.29.
As for the most active counters, Cape EMS Bhd rose half sen to 46 sen, Oversea Enterprise Bhd was flat at 5.5 sen, while Hubline Bhd declined half-a-sen to 8.0 sen.