KUALA LUMPUR: Shares on Bursa Malaysia opened lower today with investors staying on the sidelines ahead of the US Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting mid-week.
At 9.22 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,847.19, down 0.75 of-a-point from Monday's close of 1,847.94.
The key index opened 2.45 points lower at 1,845.49.
A dealer said immediate support for the index stood at the 50-day moving average level of 1,842, while on the upside, immediate resistance would be at last Tuesday's high of 1,864.
Among heavyweights, Maybank lost two sen to RM10.30 and CIMB eased four sen to RM7.22.
Public Bank added eight sen to RM23.20, TNB perked 10 sen to RM15.80 and Petronas Chemicals gained four sen to RM8.19.
Of the actives, Red Sena and DGB Asia slipped half-a-sen each to 2.5 sen and 16 sen respectively, and Frontken lost 2.5 sen to 46.5 sen.
Goodway added 5.5 sen to 29.5 sen, while Globaltec was flat at five sen.
The FBM Emas Index eased 25.35 points to 13,011.45, the FBMT 100 Index was 22.68 points lower at 12,764.91 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 25.35 points to 13,011.45.
The FBM 70 declined 87.48 points to 15,595.17 and the FBM Ace was 41.41 points weaker at 5,876.44.
Sector-wise, the Finance Index fell 27.869 points to 18,032.42, the Industrial Index inched down 1.08 points to 3,237.62, but the Plantation Index was 9.76 points better at 7,976.51.
Market breadth was negative with 270 losers against 104 gainers, while 220 counters were unchanged, 1,299 untraded and 23 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 218.26 million shares worth RM90.78 million.