KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI ended lower, echoing regional equity performances on profit-taking, leaving the index in the red at midday.

The FBM KLCI was down 5.18 points to 1,456.85 after a bout of profit-taking. The index opened 1.67 points lower at 1,460.36.

There were 241 stocks advancing against 448 stocks declining while 415 counters unchanged. Trading volume stood at to 1.6 billion units worth RM791.9mil.

Rakuten Trade said reckoned the index may experience more upside hence expect the index to hover within the 1,460-1,470 range today.

Meanwhile, the Brent crude price trended near the US$88 per barrel due to huge decline in inventory.

At Bursa Malaysia, the top losers was Heineken, which fell 38 sen to RM25.80, BLD Plantation lost 38 sen to RM10.72, Hong Leong Bank slid 26 sen to RM19.84 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 18 sen to RM23.20.

The gainers included Southern Acids, Nestle and PIE Industrial. Among the actively-traded stocks, Classita was unchanged at 10 sen with 115.28 million shares traded.

Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.54%, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.61% while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong declined 0.95%, China’s CSI300 index lost 0.5% and South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.46%.