KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): The FBM KLCI fell 3.82 points or 0.2% on  profit taking in the final trading minutes and as markets adjusted to the new Malaysian government under Pakatan Harapan.

Fund managers said there was foreign selling of local shares.

At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,854.44 points after investors sold KLCI-linked stocks Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd and AMMB Holdings Bhd. Other KLCI-linked decliners included Telekom Malaysia Bhd and YTL Corp Bhd.

The KLCI closed lower after rising to its intraday high at 1,867.09 points.

Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng said the market still needs time to digest new policies by the new Malaysian government. Wong said there was still foreign selling of local shares as foreign investors do not like uncertainty.

“They have been reducing some of their stocks. This may be due to uncertainty in the Malaysian market which they do not like. However it may also be due to external factors such as higher US treasury yields (which) impacted flow of funds,” Wong told theedgemarkets.com.

Across Bursa Malaysia, 3.33 billion shares worth RM3.78 billion were traded. Top decliners included George Kent (M) Bhd and My E.G. Services Bhd.