KUALA LUMPUR (March 6 ): Bursa Malaysia continued to decline to close lower for a second consecutive day on Wednesday in lacklustre trading as investors took profits after the recent rally against the backdrop of significant data releases and economic meetings this week, a dealer said.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 5.47 points to 1,531.51 from Tuesday's close of 1,536.98.

The benchmark index, which opened 4.53 points lower at 1,532.45, moved within a narrow range between 1,527.92 and 1,535.2 throughout the day.

On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 588 to 422, while 439 counters were unchanged, 814 untraded and 13 others suspended.

Turnover fell to 3.65 billion units worth RM2.66 billion from 3.81 billion units worth RM2.8 billion the previous day.

Head of wealth research & advisory, designated portfolio manager at UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Mohd Sedek Jantan said currently, all eyes are on the US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's two-day Congressional testimony beginning on Wednesday, followed by Bank Negara's overnight policy rate (OPR) announcement on Thursday.

“Additionally, this Friday's [March 8] Nonfarm Payrolls report holds significant importance for market participants,” he said.

Besides, he said Tuesday's disappointment over China's conservative economic growth target for 2024 has further fuelled caution for investors.

The Chinese government reportedly set a conservative 5% economic growth target for 2024, significantly lower than the previous double-digit figures.

On the local bourse, heavyweights Public Bank Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd eased two sen to RM4.30 and RM6.51, Tenaga Nasional Bhd was flat at RM11.16, while Maybank Bhd added one sen to RM9.64, and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd rose 10 sen to RM6.96.

As for the actives, Harvest Miracle Capital Bhd declined 1.5 sen to 12 sen, Velesto Energy Bhd shrank two sen to 27 sen, Widad Group Bhd was flat at 9.5 sen, while Minetech Resources Bhd perked up half a sen to 15 sen, and Notion Vtec Bhd climbed a sen to 52.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 36.27 points to 11,360.73, the FBMT 100 Index trimmed 38.85 points to 11,026.44, the FBM ACE Index fell 17.72 points to 4,681.44, the FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 19.16 points to 11,365.93, and the FBM 70 Index dropped 51.81 points to 15,311.6.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index tumbled 58.31 points to 17,231.82, the Energy Index slipped 11.4 points to 895.87, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.06 of a point to 174.41, while the Plantation Index firmed 41.75 points to 7,220.04.

The Main Market volume fell to 1.7 billion units valued at RM2.34 billion from 1.99 billion units valued at RM2.51 billion on Tuesday.

Warrants turnover increased to 1.3 billion units worth RM174.73 million from 1.22 billion units worth RM151.75 million previously.  

The ACE Market volume expanded to 642.46 million shares worth RM151.44 million from 595.83 million shares worth RM140.07 million on Tuesday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 246.02 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (308.12 million); construction (80.25 million); technology (250.69 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (152.27 million); property (235.65 million); plantation (93.59 million); REITs (10.9 million), closed/fund (8,200); energy (149.49 million); healthcare (43.63 million); telecommunications and media (21.18 million); transportation and logistics (24.15 million); and utilities (82.83 million).