KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI ended the day on a flat note as mixed sentiment weighed on buying patterns.

At 5pm, the 30-stock index was nearly flat to close at 1,531.73 points, up 0.4 of a point. Trading volume stood at 3.15 billion units worth RM2.32bil.

There were 441 gainers against 582 losers while 446 counters closed unchanged.

Dealers said the performance of the local bourse was due to a lack of compelling leads on the horizon. The selling pressure in the region had also curbed interest in the local bourse.

Half of the KLCI-component stocks closed higher while 14 ended lower and one traded unchanged.

Kuala Lumpur Kepong shed 54 sen to RM20.70, Petronas Dagangan lost 14 sen to RM19.80, Sime Darby Plantation eased seven sen to RM4.10 and Press Metal declined seven sen to RM5.46.

Hong Leong Financial Group gained 20 sen to RM17.50, Hap Seng added 16 sen to RM7.98, Maxis rose 12 sen, Digi advanced 10 sen to RM4.30 and IHH Healthcare climbed six sen to RM6.58.

NWP, the most actively traded counter on Bursa Malaysia, has been served with an unusual market activity (UMA) query due to the sharp rise in its price and volume recently. The counter added two sen to 32 sen with 170.24 million shares done.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that oil prices rose on Friday after OPEC+ producers rebuffed a U.S. call to raise supply.

Brent crude rose 58 cents or 0.72% to $81.12 a barrel while US WTI added US$1.03, or 1.31% to US$79.84 per barrel.

Elsewhere in the region, Asian shares closed mostly lower with Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.61%, South Korea’s Kospi closed down 0.47%, China’s CSI300 declined 0.54% and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong lost 1.41%.