KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): The FBM KLCI saw a wave of profit taking by investors today after more than a-week-long rally since June 1, which resulted in the benchmark index falling as low as 1,653.25 points after the mid-day break.

At the end of trading hours, it pared some losses to settle at 1,657.85 points, a mild decline of 2.77 points or 0.17% from yesterday’s close.

At press time, the ringgit has also weakened to 4.0623 against the US dollar, and to 3.0026 versus the Singapore dollar.

When contacted, JF Apex Securities Bhd head of research Lee Chung Chen told theedgemarkets.com that investors were largely in a profit taking mood after the KLCI’s rally since the start of June.

“As for now, retail investors are still staying on the sidelines. Market is looking for its direction, pending the outcome of the Brexit issue by the end of this month, and perhaps more clarity on whether there will be a rate hike in the US,” he said.

Lee was of the view that the supporting level for the KLCI was at 1,615 points, with resistance at 1,670 points.

Reuters reported Southeast Asian stocks were trading cautiously on Wednesday, in line with Asian markets, with Indonesia snapping three consecutive days of gains on profit-taking, while the Philippine index and Vietnam extended gains from the previous session.

Asian peers were flat as weak Chinese export data offset a brightening energy sector outlook, alongside an expected delay in interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.

China had announced its May exports fell by a more-than-expected, i.e. 4.1% from a year earlier.

Today, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.93%, along with South Korea’s Kospi, which increased 0.77%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, however, settled 0.14% lower.

In Malaysia, losers outpaced gainers by 445 to 355 counters, while 334 stocks remained unchanged.

Total trading volume stood at 1.76 billion shares, worth some RM1.78 billion.

Top gainers were led by Nestle (M) Bhd today, while the biggest loser was British American Tobacco (M) Bhd.

M3 Technologies (Asia) Bhd, which received an unusual market activity query from the local exchange, was the most actively-traded counter, with 94.58 million shares done.