KUALA LUMPUR (May 1): The FBM KLCI declined 4.11 points or 0.24% to close at 1,743.41 today, as investor sentiment continues to be clouded by global and domestic uncertainties.

“Globally, investors are keeping an eye on the situation in Greece and also waiting on the next move by the US Federal Reserve on interest rates,” said Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong.

Meanwhile, domestically, he said that the decline in the index could be due to the exit of foreign funds which has been prevalent since last week.

“The outflow of foreign funds is partly due to the political undercurrent in Malaysia, following the 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Bhd) issue and the recent reports on another government-linked company,” he said, referring to reports on Pembinaan PFI Sdn Bhd.

Looking ahead, Wong said the KLCI could slow, if not stop, its decline as the index has fallen below its long-term average.

The bourse saw a total of 1.61 billion shares worth RM1.81 billion traded today. Decliners beat gainers at 436 versus 378, while 287 counters were unchanged.

The top decliner on the board was British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, while gainers were led by Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd.

The counter with the highest volume of trades was Frontken Corp Bhd. Other notable counters that saw active trades and substantial gains include IFCA MSC Bhd and PUC Founder (MSC) Bhd.

Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.03%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.63%, while South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.59%.

Reuters reported that Asian shares pared earlier steep losses on Monday after Chinese markets rallied as investors focused on some of the bright spots in separate surveys of Chinese factory activity.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was nearly flat in late afternoon trading, after early dropping to its lowest intraday level since April 7.