KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 26): The FBM KLCI continued to close lower today, for the third consecutive day, by 5.38 points or 0.35%, mainly dragged by banking and telecommunication stocks.

At 5pm, the local benchmark index closed at 1,549.39 points — nearly a two-month low. In today’s session, it was mostly trading in the negative territory between the range of 1,538.26 and 1,558.95 points.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Loui Low believes that the downward bias on the FBM KLCI will still remain until the conclusion of the reporting season.

“The broader market especially the small caps and lower liners are the ones in focus,” he told theedgemarkets.com, adding that it could be due to ample liquidity in the markets and finding some short-term trading ahead of the busy reporting season.

“We still think it is better to be cautious as stocks might trade higher until the results are released and should the results be weaker than expected, the share price might tank,” Low noted.

Among the 30 constituents, Petronas Dagangan Bhd led the pack as the biggest loser and closed 50 sen or 2.36% lower at RM20.72.

It was followed by Public Bank Bhd, which was down 36 sen or 2.12% at RM16.60, and RHB Bank Bhd, which fell 10 sen or 2.09% at RM4.68. Telekom Malaysia Bhd was also down six sen or 1.56% at RM3.79.

Glove makers, on the other hand, flooded the list of top gainers led by Supermax Corp Bhd, which was RM1.48 or 7.47% higher at RM21.28 today, followed by Top Glove Corp Bhd, which rose 94 sen or RM3.70 to RM26.34.

Other glove makers Rubberex Corp (M) Bhd (up 72 sen or 14.31%), Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd (up 66 sen or 4.51%), Comfort Gloves Bhd (up 32 sen or 7.57%), Careplus Group Bhd (up 30 sen or 8.7%), and Hartalega Holdings Bhd (up 26 sen or 1.58%) also joined the ranks.

Today, Bursa Malaysia saw 12.12 billion shares worth RM6.18 billion traded. Gainers outpaced laggards at 706 versus 424, while 379 counters remained unchanged.

Across Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 slid 0.03%, while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.11%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.02%.

Reuters reported that Asian stocks drifted lower on Wednesday as rising Covid-19 cases and grim US data dented sentiment, while currencies slipped into a holding pattern ahead of US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome's Powell's speech.

Following a day of buoyant gains for stock markets across the region on signs of progress in US-China trade negotiations, China and Singapore led early selling after a wobble on Wall Street overnight, the newswire added.

Edited by Lam Jian Wyn