KUALA LUMPUR (June 17): The FBM KLCI closed 0.47% or 7.46 points lower at 1570.86 today as investors remained cautious, pending more clarity of recent domestic political developments.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Loui Low said the downtrend of the KLCI today was mainly due to investors being afraid of exposing themselves to political risks.

“The trading value and volume were not exciting as well as investors were still digesting the National Recovery Plan,” he told theedgemarkets.com.

He expects the market to trade either sideways or negative tomorrow and next week as investors are also likely to stay cautious as daily Covid-19 cases remain high.

Likewise, TA Securities said in a note today that the cautious market undertone should persist until there is more clarity on the politics side and further details of the four-phase exit strategy from the current economic lockdown.

“Immediate index support remains at the recent pivot low of 1,568, with better support from the next pivot low of 1,552, then 1,540 and 1,520.

“On the upside, immediate resistance stays at 1,600, with more formidable resistance expected from the recent highs of 1,623, 1,635 and 1,642,” it said.

Across Bursa Malaysia, 4.26 billion securities crossed for RM2.74 billion today, compared with 4.69 billion securities traded worth RM3.14 billion yesterday.

Losers led gainers by 611 to 361, while 454 counters closed unchanged.

JcbNext Bhd was the top gainer today. The stock hit limit up after surging 39 sen or 30% to RM1.69. Edaran Bhd, which was the second top gainer, also hit limit up after soaring 30 sen or 49.59% to 90.5 sen.

The day's top loser was Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd (MPI), falling 42 sen or 1.04% to RM40.14. This was followed by Transocean Holdings Bhd, which slipped 27 sen or 5.63% to RM4.53.

MMAG Holdings Bhd, the most actively traded stock with 212.14 million shares changing hands, closed unchanged at 19 sen.

Meanwhile, Asian bourses were mixed today.

Reuters reported that China stocks rose after three straight sessions of losses as subdued factory output data eased fears of policy tightening in the world’s second-largest economy, while tech firms shined on reports of a chip push.

It also reported that Japanese and South Korean shares ended lower on the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) hawkish tone.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.21% higher at 3,525.6, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended 0.93% lower at 29,018.33 and South Korea’s KOSPI closed 0.42% lower at 3,264.96.