KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 18): The FBM KLCI eased 0.18% today as the U.S. dollar sprinted to a more than 13-year high, on expectations President-elect Donald Trump's policies will boost the American economy.
 
The benchmark index closed 2.97 points lower at 1,623.80. 

Etiqa Insurance and Takaful Bhd head of research Chris Eng Poh Yoon said the KLCI continued to demonstrate weakness beyond its regional peers, on the weak ringgit effect.

“We continue to advocate nibbling good blue chips in the market,” he told theedgemarkets.com.

Across Bursa Malaysia, 1.39 billion shares worth RM1.51 billion exchanged hands. There were 356 gainers versus 402 decliners.

British American Tobacco (M) Bhd and Petronas Dagangan Bhd were among top gainers. Leading decliner was United Plantations Bhd. The most active stock was APFT Bhd.

The largely flat performance of KLCI was in line with mixed trend among other Asian share indices. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.59%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.37%.

According to Reuters, the U.S. presidential election prompted investors to ditch their once rock-solid conviction that growth in developed economies will remain tepid, because of tough competition from emerging economies that have lower wages.