KUALA LUMPUR: Late buying of selected stocks including Nestle and Petronas Dagangan helped the FBM KLCI pare down its losses but the gains were insufficient to push the index above the key 1,500 level.
At 5pm, the KLCI was up 6.4 points or 0.43% to 1,498.80 after falling to a low of 1,486 at about 3.40pm. Turnover was 6.73 billion shares valued at RM4.60bil. Decliners beat advancers 614 to 461 and 450 counters unchanged.
A recovery in crude oil prices helped Petronas-linked stocks but banks lost ground.
Among the key Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.7%, China's Shanghai Composite 0.38% and South Korea's Kospi closed down 0.67% but Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.13% and Singapore's STI edged up 0.09%.
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