KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 1): The FBM KLCI slipped 0.25% today as investors opted for selective rebalancing among their portfolios following the end of the results season last week.

The benchmark index closed the day 3.78 points lower at 1,521.43, dragged by losses in Public Bank Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd and Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PetDag).

Public Bank and PetDag were the two biggest losers on Bursa Malaysia, followed by glove maker Supermax Corp Bhd.

On the other side, Hong Leong Bank Bhd and Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd were the top gainers among KLCI component stocks. They also emerged as the second- and third-biggest gainers across Bursa, after Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd.

Overall, market breadth had a slightly negative bias with 612 decliners against 542 gainers, while 391 counters traded unchanged.

"Until there is more uncertainty, the market will likely remain in consolidation mode," HLIB Research senior analyst Ng Jun Sheng told theedgemarkets.com.

All eyes will be on whether there will be a further cut in the Overnight Policy Rate on Sept 10, and whether there will be more economic stimulus programmes following the extension of the Recovery Movement Control Order announced last Friday.

While September is a seasonally quiet period for Bursa Malaysia, trading activity was still on the high side, with 10.39 billion shares valued at RM5.59 billion traded.

Investors continued to favour small-cap stocks, with the FBM Small Cap Index up 1% and the FBM ACE Index up 2.05%.

Small-cap counters continued to dominate the top active list, led by Fintec Global Bhd, XOX Bhd and Nova MSC Bhd.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets were largely mixed. The Nikkei 225 traded sideways to close down 0.01%, South Korea's Kospi rose 1.01% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.03%.

The ringgit strengthened today on the back of a rebound in crude oil prices, with Brent spot traded up 0.97% to US$45.72 per barrel at the time of writing.

Against the US dollar, the ringgit strengthened 0.48% to 4.1440 having traded at 4.4125/4.1628. It also strengthened against the Singapore dollar (up 0.34% to 3.0508/3.0625) and the Australian dollar (up 0.38% to 3.0562/3.0802).

Edited by S Kanagaraju