KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 — Bursa Malaysia ended the week lower, in tandem with most regional markets ahead of US Federal Reserve (Fed) chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium later today.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shaved 0.26 of a point to 1,444.41 from 1,444.67 at yesterday’s close.

The barometer index opened 0.46 points weaker at 1,444.21 and moved between 1,438.51 and 1,445.93 throughout the day.

On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 547 to 395, while 411 counters were unchanged, 1,021 untraded and 23 others suspended. Turnover increased to 3.72 billion units worth RM2.66 billion against 3.53 billion units worth RM1.91 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI pared losses at the close due to late buying but the benchmark index still ended in the red amid the regional selldown.

“Key regional indices trended lower following a negative performance from Wall Street overnight with technology shares fizzling out as the sentiment turned risk-averse ahead of Friday’s speech from Fed chairman Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Symposium.

“At the same time, China’s dwindling housing market and slow consumer expenditure are impacting the investing outlook,” he told Bernama.

Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index bucked the trend and rose 0.22 per cent to 3,187.82 but Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index lost 2.05 per cent to 31,624.28 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.40 per cent to 17,956.38.

South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index declined 0.73 per cent to 2,519.14.

Bursa Malaysia heavyweight stocks Maybank added one sen to RM9.02, CIMB rose three sen to RM5.61 and Petronas Chemicals gained five sen to RM6.90.

IHH Healthcare added two sen to RM5.97, Public Bank was flat at RM4.08 and TNB slid three sen to RM9.97.

Among the actives, Boustead Plantations jumped 12 sen to RM1.49, Iskandar Waterfront rallied 11 sen to 59.5 sen and Ekovest was 2.5 sen higher at 45.5 sen.

UEM Sunrise expanded 4.5 sen to 67 sen and RGB International dropped 1.5 sen to 36 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index eased 6.31 points to 10,662.27, the FBMT100 Index fell 6.88 points to 10,343.21 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 22.78 points to 10,888.97.

The FBM 70 Index lost 30.42 points to 14,126.31, and the FBM ACE Index discounted 39.88 points to 5,274.90.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 3.75 points to 16,190.69, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.19 of-a-point to 169.03 and the Energy Index grew 0.43 of-a-point to 824.15.

The Plantation Index went down by 39.49 points to 6,958.83.

The Main Market volume went up to 2.54 billion units worth RM2.41 billion from Thursday’s 2.36 billion units worth RM1.60 billion.

Warrant turnover swelled to 440.69 million units worth RM58.93 million against 420.48 million units worth RM65.37 million yesterday.

The ACE Market volume eased to 723.48 million shares worth RM198.39 million from 746.82 million shares worth RM240.07 million.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 504.08 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (401.71 million); construction (234.90 million); technology (162.77 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (55.56 million); property (501.68 million); plantation (150.96 million); REITs (6.21 million), closed/fund (81,100); energy (235.91 million); healthcare (41.43 million); telecommunications and media (32.37 million); transportation and logistics (58.71 million); and utilities (153.37 million). — Bernama