KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia ended trading today broadly lower for the third consecutive session as sentiment remained weak over the development of the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the close, the benchmark FBM KLCI fell 13.15 points to 1,562.17 compared with yesterday’s close of 1,575.32.
The market bellwether, which opened 5.89 points easier at 1,569.43, fluctuated between 1,552.07 and 1,574.70.
Overall market breadth was also negative with losers thumping gainers 881 to 330, while 386 counters were unchanged, 615 untraded and 18 others suspended.
The ringgit recovered some of its losses to end the week on a firmer note against the US dollar today on weaker buying support for the greenback.
At 6pm, the local currency was traded at 4.1390/1430 against the US dollar from yesterday’s close of 4.1445/1475.
Traders said the falling inflation expectations in the United States have lifted risk sentiment and pushed US Treasury yields lower.
“That was enough to spur a sell-off in the US dollar as investors moved positioning once again out of the haven greenback,” OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said in a note. – Bernama, May 21, 2021
