KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia extended its downtrend to close lower on Thursday due to profit taking activities on commodities and gaming stocks.
At 5pm, FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM) KLCI was down 0.14 per cent or 2.23 points to 1,569.25 versus Wednesday's close of 1,571.48.
The key index which opened at 1,573.29 moved between 1,569.03 and 1,574.45 throughout the trading session today.
The broader market was negative with decliners surpassing gainers 581 to 441 while 537 counters were unchanged.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said today's sell down was interpreted as a healthy correction which allowed the market to absorb the recent uptrend.
It also presented a favourable opportunity to accumulate stocks at lower levels.
"We hold our view that if the benchmark index is able to sustain above the 1,570 level for a longer period, there are higher chances for it to make further advances.
"Hence, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,565-1,575 towards the weekend," said Thong.
He noted key regional indices also trended on similar patterns due to the same reason.
"Investors are having a wait and see approach ahead of the global earnings season.
"Meanwhile, Meta Platforms Inc.'s disappointing outlook has sparked concerns about whether the industry, which has fueled the bull market in equities, has stretched too thin.
"Additionally, interest is now directed towards the Bank of Japan, as its two-day monetary policy meeting got underway on Thursday," he added.
FBM100 dropped 0.15 per cent to 11,418.47, FBM Emas shed 0.17 per cent to 11,780.98 and FBM Ace was down 1.02 per cent to 5,015.01.