KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 3): The FBM KLCI erased gains at the 11th hour to close 0.12 point lower at 1,740.93 points on late selling of index-linked Petronas Dagangan Bhd shares.

At 5pm, Petronas Dagangan fell 46 sen to close at RM23.44 to become Bursa Malaysia's largest decliner. Earlier, the KLCI had risen to its intraday high at 1,744.79 points.

At 5pm, Bursa Malaysia decliners led gainers at 440 against 327 respectively. A total of 2.8 billion shares worth RM1.98 billion changed hands.

Analysts said Malaysian shares fell amid muted market reaction towards US policy news.
 
Reuters reported that the dollar held steady versus a basket of currencies on Friday, as investors shifted their focus to US jobs data, with President Donald Trump's nomination of Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell to be the next Fed chair coming as no surprise.

It was reported that in Washington, House Republicans finally unveiled long-delayed plans for deep tax cuts that Trump has promised, setting off a frantic race in Congress to give him his first major legislative victory.

AmInvestment Bank Bhd analyst Lim Sae Wai told theedgemarkets.com: “The appointment of Jerome Powell has been indicated earlier, and the tax reform bill by the Republicans seems to be less significant than earlier hyped.

“While foreign outflow (from Malaysian markets) has stabilised, there is no signal of reversal yet in the KLCI’s downward trend. Quarterly results will determine the market direction in the near term.”