KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): The FBM KLCI fell 6.84 points or 0.4% on foreign selling, ahead of the outcome of the United States (U.S.) Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan meetings this week.

The Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan's monetary policy decisions will be closely watched, as such decisions could influence global fund movements. The Federal Reserve meets on Tuesday and Wednesday (July 26 and 27), while the Bank of Japan's meeting will be held this Thurday and Friday (July 28 and 29).

In Malaysia today, the KLCI closed at 1,661.42 points. The ringgit strengthened to 4.0640 against the U.S. dollar, after trading between 4.0545 and 4.0910.

Etiqa Insurance & Takaful research head Chris Eng said foreign investors were taking profits in the stock market, as they were cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan meetings.

“People still feel they (Fed) will not raise rates tomorrow, but maybe in September or November. I think there is some selling pressure in global markets, not just Malaysia,” he told theedgemarkets.com.

Across Asian share markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.43%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.62%.

Reuters reported caution was the watchword among investors on Tuesday, with equity markets mixed and the yen scampering higher, ahead of central bank meetings in the U.S. and Japan.

Across Bursa Malaysia, decliners led gainers by 448 to 294. Volume was 1.4 billion shares, valued at RM1.56 billion.

Top decliner was Petronas Dagangan Bhd, while leading gainer was Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd.

TH Heavy Engineering Bhd was the most actively-traded counter, with some 73 million shares transacted.