KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended mixed today with the key index closing marginally higher and the broader market in negative territory, amid cautious sentiment ahead of the United States Federal Reserve's (Fed) decision on interest rate.
At 5.00 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) inched up 0.23 of-a-point to end at 1,512.98 from Tuesday's close of 1,512.75.
The barometer index opened 0.15 of-a-point easier at 1,512.60 and moved between 1,509.55 and 1,516.40 throughout the day.
Decliners led advancers 635 to 401 on the broader market, while 427 counters were unchanged.
Turnover declined to 3.67 billion units valued at RM2.86 billion from 3.78 billion units worth RM2.64 billion on Tuesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI closed relatively flat amid careful sentiment prevailing across the region, but managed to stay in positive territory.
Thong said major regional indices finished mixed as investors exercised caution ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting later today.
"On the domestic front, we advise investors to remain vigilant despite the benchmark index's upward trend, considering the heightened market volatility and global uncertainties. "We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,500-1,520 towards the weekend with immediate resistance at 1,527 and support at 1,500," he told the Business Times.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd added two sen to RM9.26, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd edged up one sen to RM6.23, Tenaga Nasional Bhd gained 24 sen to RM10.72, while Public Bank Bhd slid one sen to RM4.39, and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd lost six sen to RM6.77.
As for the actives, Reneuco Bhd shed seven sen to 8.5 sen, Perdana Petroleum Bhd, Velestro Energy Bhd, and Sapura Energy Bhd eased half-a-sen each to 26.5 sen, 26.0 sen and 4.5 sen, respectively, while TWL Holdings Bhd was flat at four sen.Ends