KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 19): The FBM KLCI closed 5 points or 0.29% lower today as investors took profit, mainly in telecommunications, banking, and oil and gas heavyweights. At 5pm, the KLCI settled at 1,743.99 points.

TA Securities technical analyst Steven Soo told theedgemarkets.com that there has been aggressive selling of blue chips in the sectors mentioned, which has affected the broader market.

The unexpected resignation of Malaysia Airlines Bhd's chief executive officer Peter Bellew, Soo said, has also hurt sentiment, which resulted in a pullback of foreign investors' confidence and exposure in the local equities market, which have been largely on the rise.

"[And] as it's a Deepavali week, most market players are away," he added.

Soo also said with no upside catalysts, he is not seeing any buying support in the market presently. The benchmark index has also been ignoring the trend in global markets.

"The trading volume is elevated, it's quite high. The value, however, is not high. This shows that trading is focused on cheaper stocks. I expect this trend to continue tomorrow," said Soo.

Today, Bursa Malaysia saw 3.16 billion shares, worth RM2.51 billion, traded. There were 342 gainers and 502 decliners.

Across in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.4%, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.4% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.92%.

Reuters reported Japan's Nikkei share average rose for the 13th straight session on Thursday, establishing its longest winning streak since 1988, while scaling a fresh 21-year peak as gains in global stocks and a weaker yen cheered investors.