KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended the day in the red due to losses in prominent stocks, primarily the banking sector, as investors exercised caution ahead of possible cues on US interest rates from US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.
Powell is due to give opening remarks before the Federal Reserve Division of Research and Statistics Centennial Conference later today.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 0.39 per cent, or 5.77 points to end at 1,457.60 from Tuesday's closing of 1,463.37.
The index began the session with a 2.24-point decrease, opening at 1,461.13, and fluctuated within the range of 1,454.46 to 1,462.01 during the entire trading session.
On the broader market, gainers outnumbered decliners 490 to 412, while 454 counters were unchanged.
Turnover expanded to 3.45 billion units valued at RM1.97 billion from Tuesday's 3.27 billion units valued at RM2.17 billion.
Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said investors have shifted their buying focus to smaller-cap stocks, particularly utilities, healthcare, and industrial products, which has weighed on the FBM KLCI.
He said nonetheless, market breadth was positive with 490 gainers against 412 losers.
Key regional index trended mixed as investors are cautious ahead of the meeting between US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and China's Vice Premier He Lifeng on Thursday and Friday.
Meanwhile, he added that Moody's Investors Service has reconfirmed the Government of Japan's A1 long-term foreign currency and local currency issuer, as well as the local currency senior unsecured ratings, with the outlook held at stable.
"On the home front, the near-term outlook for Malaysian stocks is likely to remain positive, supported by their attractive valuations, robust corporate earnings, and improving economic conditions.
"We anticipate the benchmark index to rebound anytime soon and expect it to trend within the range of 1,455 to 1,470 for the rest of the week" he said.