KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 — Bursa Malaysia ended lower on Wednesday on a lack of catalysts, in line with most key regional markets.

At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased by 4.44 points to 1,469.55 from Tuesday's closing of 1,473.99. The market bellwether opened 1.14 points lower at 1,472.85.

Regionally, Singapore's Straits Times Index eased 0.10 per cent to 3,242.46 and Japan's Nikkei 225 Index trimmed 1.45 per cent to 25,716.86, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 3.22 per cent to 20,793.11.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of Equity Research, Thong Pak Leng said despite the heightened volatility in regional markets, he believes that bargain hunting will emerge due to cheap valuations and improving corporate earnings.

"As such, we see the benchmark index to trend within the 1,465-1,485 range for the remainder of the week," he told Bernama.

Further details on the market movement today could not be disclosed at the time of writing as the local bourse operator said the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI is currently unavailable in the price feed. — Bernama