Malaysian shares started the week on a dour note on Monday, extending losses from the previous session as investor sentiment remained subdued.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI, the main gauge of Malaysian stocks, shed 8.51 points to end 0.55% lower at 1,542.53 at the close. The day ranged between 1,542.53 and 1,548.34.
The downbeat mood was partly due to news from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board. Palm oil stocks in the country fell 10.68% in March compared to February, dropping to their lowest level in 10 months at 1.71 million metric tons. Despite a rebound in production, the industry regulator reported a significant jump in exports.
In other news, Malaysia's short-term interbank rates closed steadily on the central bank's operations to absorb surplus liquidity from the financial system.
Liquidity in the traditional system eased to 25.41 billion ringgit from 26.18 billion ringgit, while liquidity in Islamic funds dropped to 15.37 billion ringgit from 17.61 billion ringgit, previously.
In corporate news, shares of the operative builders' company SC Estate Builder (KLSE:SCBUILD), and those of the event management and organization company XOX Networks (KLSE:XOXNET) both plunged over 33% today.
