KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI closed down 0.5% or 9.16 points to 1,740.09 on profit taking as well as a lack of window dressing.

TA Securities Holdings Bhd senior technical analyst Stephen Soo said the index’s performance for the day fell below the firm’s expectations, and the lack of upside in window dressing signalled continued weak sentiment.

“The local stock market is underwhelming. We expected some upside in window dressing but that did not happen. The subdued momentum indicated that sentiment is still weak,” Soo told the edgemarkets.com.

However, Soo said TA Securities foresees a rebound in the FBM KLCI next week following reports that Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL), the operator of the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL), could announce the breakdown of its tenders as early as early April.

“The announcement of contractors that will take part in the ECRL project will trigger the local stock market. It is a bit quiet now but things could (shake up) soon,” he said.

Overall, 3.13 billion shares worth RM2.69 billion were traded on Bursa Malaysia today.

There were 431 gainers led by British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Far East Holdings Bhd and Nestle (M) Bhd.

Losers totalled 466, spearheaded by PPB Group Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd and Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd.

Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.81%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 0.78%, and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 0.2%.

Reuters quoted Rivkin Securities’ global investment analyst James Woods as saying that Asian markets showed healthy levels of profit-taking as investors looked out for developments from Brexit and US inflation.