KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 22): The FBM KLCI fell 2.02 points or 0.1% on profit taking amid weaker Asian stock markets.

The KLCI ended at 1,705.09 points at 5pm. The KLCI traded between an intra-day high of 1,711.39 and low of 1,701.69. Yesterday, the KLCI gained 2.08 points or 0.1% to 1,707.11.

Today, major Asian share markets fell. Japan's Nikkei 225 was 0.64% lower while South Korea's Kospi declined 0.98%.

In China, Shanghai Composite rose 1.45% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.63%.

In Malaysia, fund managers said there was a lack of catalysts in the local bourse.

Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong said while some KLCI-linked stocks fell, there was buying in Bursa Malaysia's second and third liners ahead of Malaysia's Budget 2016 announcement tomorrow.

"It is a mixed market today. There are some buying activities in some technology stocks," Wong told theedgemarkets.com via telephone.

Another fund manager said: "The recent performance of the KLCI was subdued in line with regional stock markets. There is no important policy announcement in the region yet after China reported slower growth."

Bursa Malaysia saw 456 decliners versus 419 advancers. A total of 2.44 billion shares valued at RM2.03 billion changed hands.

The top gainer was Nestle (M) Bhd while the leading decliner was Top Glove Corp Bhd. UEM Sunrise Bhd was one of the most-actively traded counters.

UEM Sunrise, the fourth most-active entity, was closely watched after analysts said the stock was undervalued, hence, a privatisation story could make sense.

The stock rose seven sen or 6% to close at RM1.27. The share price compares with UEM Sunrise's latest reported net assets per share of RM1.40.

Public Investment Bank Bhd analyst Tan Siang Hing wrote in a note today UEM Sunrise shares had risen on privatisation rumours.

"UEM Sunrise's stock price has rebounded c.50% from its all-time low of RM0.76 recently on rumors of privatisation by its holding company while trading volume has also spiked up accordingly.

"While (there is) no real way of knowing, the privatisation story might make sense by looking at the steep discount to its value," Tan said.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)