KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 2): The FBM KLCI ended lower for the second day in a row as the market anticipates the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) next move during a policy meeting this week and ahead of the highly anticipated US presidential elections on Nov 8.

At market close, the benchmark index fell 11.33 points or 0.68% to close at 1,659.6, after sliding to an intraday low of 1,656.5 points earlier.

Mercury Securities Sdn Bhd research head Edmund Tham attributed the decline in the local market to the increasingly tight US election race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump as well as a possible hike in US interest rates by the end of the year.

"Assuming these are the two reasons affecting the stock market, I think the sentiments will likely be unchanged in the near term," he told theedgemarkets.com.

"These factors have pushed up the US dollar against the ringgit. Foreign investors will tend to hold lesser ringgit under this situation," Tham added.

Across the market, Tham said the local market still sees a huge selling pressure compared with buying interest.

There were 1.68 billion shares worth RM1.98 billion traded today. Decliners outpaced gainers by 658 versus 206, while 308 counters were unchanged.

The gainers were led by Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, while the top decliner was Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd. The most actively traded stock was Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd.

On the regional front, the sentiments were also bearish. Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 1.76%, followed by South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng — which declined 1.42% — and Shanghai Composite Index's 0.63% drop.

The international traded Brent Crude Oil index fell 0.98% to quote at US$47.67 (RM199.72) per barrel as at 4.50pm, as industry data showed a surprise build in inventories, sparking concern of a persistent global glut.

In the currencies market, the greenback gained 0.26% to quote at 4.1895 against the ringgit as at 5.03pm.

According to Reuters, Asian shares tumbled to seven-week lows and the US dollar was on the defensive today as investors were rattled by signs the US presidential election race was tightening.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 1.2% to seven-week lows. US stock futures shed 0.4% in Asia, edging near four-month low touched on Tuesday.