KUALA LUMPUR (April 27): The FBM KLCI slid one point or 0.06% today, in line with the tepid showing of regional markets, amid the announcement by US President Donald Trump of a long-awaited US tax cut plan that seems to have failed to inspire investors.

At 5pm, the benchmark index settled at 1767.92 points.

The Malaysian market might be consolidating after its recent gains, said Mercury Securities research head Edmund Tham.

“There is also a lack of exciting development from the Bank of Japan meeting to Trump’s tax plan,” he told theedgemarkets.com.

Investor sentiment was watered down after Trump’s administration revealed what it termed the biggest tax cuts “in history” — but offered no specifics on how it could be done without ballooning US deficit, Reuters reported.

The tepid view is mitigated by the announcement by the White House that it would not unilaterally exit the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), contradicting earlier media reports.

In Japan, its central bank left monetary policy unchanged and posted its most optimistic assessment of the economy in nine years, in line with expectations, added Reuters.

“Following today, the market will be looking for direction from US’ first quarter GDP data and the outcome of the European Central Bank meeting,” added Mercury’s Tham.

Back home, Bursa Malaysia was mixed with 448 gainers against 448 decliners, with 3.45 billion shares worth RM2.77 billion were traded. Some 381 counters were left unchanged.

Gainers were led by Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd, while decliners were led by British American Tobacco (M) Bhd.

Across Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.19%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.49% and Korea’s Kospi climbed a marginal 0.07%.