Malaysian Shares Fall as Winning Streak Ends

Malaysian shares experienced a decline on Wednesday, putting an end to a five-day winning streak. The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBMKLCI) dropped by 0.8% to 1,486.86.

Top Losers

• Hartalega Holdings (5168), a health care/life sciences firm, recorded the largest decline with a fall of 3.3%.
• Shares of financial services company Public Bank (1295) also dropped by 1.8%.
• Real estate/construction company Gamuda (5398) saw a decline of 1.8%.

Top Gainers

• Inari Amertron (0166), a technology company, was the biggest leader during the session, witnessing a gain of 1.3%.
• Agriculture firm QL Resources (7084) increased by 0.9%.
• Nestle (Malaysia) (4707), operating in the consumer goods sector, rounded out the top three leaders on Wednesday, with shares gaining 0.8%.

Other Southeast Asian Markets

In other parts of Southeast Asia, the FTSE Straits Times Index (STI) in Singapore declined by 0.6%. Meanwhile, the Thailand SET Index (SET) fell by 0.2%. The Philippines' PSEi Index (PSEI) witnessed a decline of 1.1%, while Indonesia's JSX Composite Index (JAKIDX) added 0.4%.

Asian Markets Overview

Across the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong stocks experienced a drop, with the Hang Seng Index down by 0.6%. On the positive side, the NIKKEI 225 Index of Japanese companies rose by 2.0%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index declined by 0.5%.

South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index declined by 0.8%, and the S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index of Australian stocks fell by 0.7%.

Currency Update

As for the currency market, the U.S. dollar fell by 0.1% to 4.64 Malaysian ringgit, while the euro climbed by 0.1% to 5.08 ringgit.