KUALA LUMPUR: Late buying enabled the FBM KLCI to close Monday off the day's low but the market was under pressure due to fund selling of bank stocks and profit taking of Genting and Genting Malaysia.
At 5pm, the KLCI was down 5.27 points or 0.32% to 1,642.69. Turnover was 2.64 billion shares valued at RM1.72bil. There were 298 gainers, 586 losers and 400 counters unchanged.
Key Asian markets also closed lower amid pessimism over US-China trade talks and ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting where markets are expecting a 25 basis points cut.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.03%, Japan's Nikkei 225 0.19%, China's Shanghai Composite 0.12%, South Korea's Kospi 1.78% and Singapore' STI 0.52%.
As Bursa, Public Bank fell 22 sen to RM22.20 and erased 1.49 points from the KLCI while RHB Bank lost 21 sen and wiped out 1.47 points while CIMB shed five sen to RM5.09 and gave up 0.85 of a point. BIMB ended 16 sen lower at RM4.14 and Takaful 24 sen to RM6.39.
Genting fell 11 sen to RM6.95 and Genting Malaysia five sen to RM3.85 after last week's rally.
Oil prices weakened on prospect of slower economic growth globally that could reduce demand for crude, Reuters reported. Brent crude futures were down 20 cents at US$63.26 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude unchanged at US$56.20.
Petronas Chemical fell three sen to RM7.57, Petronas Gas four sen to RM16.18 and Petronas Dagangan four sen lower also to RM24.10. Dialog shed two sen to RM3.45.
As for consumer stocks, BAT fell the most, sliding RM2.38 to RM23.82 and Heineken 24 sen to RM22.86. Ajinomoto rose 34 sen to RM17.50 and F&N 12 sen to RM34.50.
MSM jumped 22 sen to RM1.60 on expectations of a corporate exercise to turn it around to be implemented by its major shareholder FGV Holdings.
Air Asia rose eight sen to RM2.03 in active trade after its dividend of 90 sen a share went ex.
IHH rose five sen to RM5.75 and added 0.76 of a point, Sime Darby shed one sen to RM2.18 while Tenaga was unchanged at RM13.62.
Crude palm oil for third month delivery fell RM6 to RM2,061 per tonne. As for plantations, KL Kepong gained six sen to RM23.62, Sime Plantation four sen to RM4.76, IOI Corp and PPB Group two sen each to RM4.20 and RM18.72.
On the currency front, the ringgit lost 0.18% against the US dollar to 4.1278 and shed 0.03% to the euro at 4.5892 but firmed up 0.78% against the weakening pound sterling to 5.0851 and advanced 0.06% to the Singapore dollar at 3.0080.