KUALA LUMPUR (June 4): The FBM KLCI slipped 1.21 points or 0.1% after volatile trade amid foreign selling as investors evaluated Malaysian Government policies and news on global trade and economic data.

At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,755.17 points after rising to its intraday high and falling to its intraday low at 1,761.61 and 1,745.75 points respectively. Last Friday, the KLCI rose 15.76 points after climbing 21.34 points the day before.

Today, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of research Vincent Lau told theedgemarkets.com that although regional market sentiment has improved as uncertainties following Malaysia's 14th General Election subsided, the KLCI remains pressured by foreign selling.

Lau said while foreign funds still appeared to be net sellers of Malaysian shares, the selling pace has been tapering off.

“If you look at the stock market, it has been rather mixed today. I believe the retailers and local funds are still supporting the market as seen by a better performance among the small-cap stocks.
 
"The KLCI struggled to keep its slight gain for the third consecutive day despite improved market sentiment regionally after strong US jobs data pointed to a stronger US economy. The US-North Korea summit is also more likely to take place now, so concern on geopolitical risk also subsided,” Lau said.

Across Asian stock markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.37%, South Korea's Kospi added 0.36% while  Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.66%.

Reuters reported that Asian shares rose to their highest in two-and-a-half-weeks on Monday as strong US jobs data offset worries that tariff wars between the United States and the rest of the world could retard global economic growth.