KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia resumed trading today on a bearish note after an extended holiday, ending the morning session lower on profit taking of selected heavyweights.
At lunch break, the benchmark FBM KLCI fell 4.14 points to 1,496.19, from last Friday's close of 1,500.33.
At closing, investors returned from the long weekend following Chinese New Year to mildly push the index 0.88 points or 0.06 per cent lower at 1,499.45.
The ringgit, on the other hand, extended its upbeat momentum to open higher versus the US dollar in early trade.
At 9am, the ringgit climbed to 4.2755 against the greenback, from last Friday's close of 4.2830, before gaining futher to 4.2620 at 5.30pm.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said today was a relatively quiet day as investors were caught in the thrall of Chinese New Year break.
Unfortunately, the local stocks were subject to border risk aversion after some weaker-than-expected US earnings sent mild recession tremours across markets, he added.
"While nothing untoward, there was simply little impulse to drive the market higher today," he told the New Straits Times.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of research Kenny Yee Shen Pin said there might be more profit taking as the Hong Kong market would be closed for Chinese New Year until Jan 26.
"Domestically, the FBM KLCI briefly broke the 1,500 mark before selling activities saw the index ended flat," Yee said.
Meanwhile, Innes said the ringgit extended its upbeat momentum to open higher versus the US dollar today, supported by renewed buying interest in the currency and improved sentiment on China's continued opening for international travel.
He believes that some of the investors will likely remain cautious on the possible sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in China post-CNY.
"However, amid the returning Chinese consumer impulse and the continued opening up of Chinese international travel, I expect the ringgit to remain on solid footing despite any short-term hiccups," he said.