KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 20): Foreign selling put pressure on share prices and dragged down FBM KLCI, which closed 3.34 points or 0.19% lower at 1,740.65 points today.

The benchmark index has been on the losing streak for four consecutive trading days; it drifted to a six-month low. Hope of a strong pre-budget rally is waning. The index has declined 2.83% from the recent peak of 1,789.86 points on Sept 12, 2017.

Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng told theedgemarkets.com that the downtrend in KLCI for the past few days was caused by foreign selling, and he is expecting the trend to continue.

Wong noted that the global sentiment is good, but somehow the KLCI is not moving in tandem with it.

"The KLCI needs some catalysts such as corporate earnings. And we will see whether the upcoming Budget 2018 will have any impact on the corporate earnings," Wong added.

Across the board, some 2.62 billion shares worth RM2.24 billion were traded today. However, gainers outnumbered losers in 425 to 390.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.04%, South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.67% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 1.17%.

Reuters reported Japan's Nikkei share average rose for the 14th straight session on Friday to post its longest winning streak in over 50 years, as a weaker yen helped stocks recoup earlier losses.

During Asian trade, the US dollar appreciated 0.6% to 113.16 Japanese yen after news that the US Senate voted on Thursday to approve a budget blueprint for the 2018 fiscal year. This could pave the way for Republicans to pursue a tax-cut package without Democratic support, Reuters reported.