KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with South Korea's KOSPI leading regional declines while Malaysia's benchmark index bucked the trend with a modest gain.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged up 3.46 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 1,678.96, supported by selective buying in banking and plantation counters. The benchmark traded in a narrow range throughout the session as investors weighed mixed regional cues.
South Korean shares suffered the steepest losses in the region, dragged down by heavy selling in technology and semiconductor stocks. The KOSPI declined sharply, reversing gains from earlier in the week as profit-taking set in across the chipmaking sector.
Japan's Nikkei 225 and Singapore's Straits Times Index also closed in negative territory, extending a cautious tone that has gripped Asian equities amid uncertainty over global trade policy and interest rate expectations. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and the Shanghai Composite posted moderate declines.
Trading volumes were moderate across most Asian bourses, with investors awaiting key US inflation data due later this week that could shape the Federal Reserve's next policy move. The mixed performance mirrored a subdued overnight session on Wall Street.
In currency markets, the ringgit held steady against the US dollar, trading in a tight band as market participants assessed Malaysia's domestic economic outlook.
Market analysts said Asian equities may remain range-bound in the near term as investors balance concerns over global growth against pockets of resilience in the region's export-oriented economies.
Sources: Yahoo Finance (https://finance.yahoo.com)
Editor's note: Live market data was fetched from the Yahoo Finance API at approximately 5:30 PM MYT. Several index levels reported by the API fell substantially outside known historical ranges (Nikkei 225, KOSPI, STI) and have been described qualitatively pending verification against official exchange closing reports. The KLCI level of 1,678.96 falls within expected parameters.
