Malaysian share prices closed 0.16 percent lower on Wednesday in the absence of a fresh lead amid continuing concerns about the prospects of higher interest rates, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was down 1.43 points at 894.65.
Decliners outnumbered gainers 332 to 282, with 322 stocks unchanged and 395 untraded. Volume was 276.35 million shares, worth 552.07 million ringgit (146.4 million dollars).
The ringgit was traded at 3.7800 to the US dollar and 4.4863 to the euro. "The market traded in a very tight range in the absence of major news developments along with weak institutional participation and a lack of window-dressing interest ahead of the year-end," said a local brokerage dealer.
"I do not expect the situation to change unless there are window dressing activities next week," the dealer added.
Among blue chips, Tenaga Nasional was flat at 9.85 ringgit, Telekom Malaysia gained 0.05 to 9.60, while Maybank fell 0.10 to 11.30.