KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 2): The FBM KLCI ended flat amid the absence of leads from the US market, which was closed for Labour Day holiday on Monday.
 
At 5pm, the KLCI inched up 1.58 points or 0.08% to settle at 1,867.69 points. The marginal gain came on stocks such as Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd and Genting Bhd.

JF Apex Securities Senior Analyst Lee Cherng Wee told theedgemalaysia.com that the KLCI lacked leads from the US market, which was closed for a holiday.

“We expect the index to trade sideways between 1,860 points to 1,880 points this week,” Lee said over the telephone.

Meanwhile, AllianceDBS Research Sdn Bhd said in a note today the KLCI was expected to move between 1,859 points and 1,879 points in an attempt to further consolidate its position.
 
“A crossover of 1,879 points should see the market gearing towards the historical high of 1,896 points,” said Alliance DBS analyst Teoh Chang Yeow.
 
Conversely, Teoh said a fall below 1,859 points would put downward pressure on the market to touch the recent low of 1,837 points.

Across Bursa Malaysia, a total of 2.8 billion shares, worth RM2.2 billion were traded. Market gainers trailed decliners by 339 versus 526, while 297 counters were unchanged.

The top gainer was British American Tobacco (M) Bhd while the leading decliner was Metal Reclamation Bhd. The most-active counter was Sanichi Technology Bhd’s rights shares, Sanichi-OR.

Across Asia, Reuters reported that Asian shares slipped on Tuesday as a U.S. holiday robbed markets of momentum, while the euro hit a fresh one-year low on uncertainty over the European Central Bank's policy decision later this week, according to Reuters.

South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.79%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed 0.01% lower.

Bucking the trend, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 1.24% up, while the Shanghai Composite Index ended 1.37% higher.