KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia commenced trading on Tuesday with a mixed outlook, as market participants exercised caution due to impending interest rate decisions by major central banks, namely the Bank of Japan and the US Federal Reserve.
At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) inched down by 0.18 points to 1,439.02 from Monday's closing of 1,439.2.
The benchmark index began the day 0.45 points lower at 1,438.75.
On the broader market, gainers outnumbered decliners 151 to 53, while 233 counters were unchanged.
Turnover stood at 149.82 million units worth RM47.49 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI ended slightly lower to close below the 1,440 mark as investors continue to be sidelined amid weaknesses across the various sectors.
He added that nonetheless, regional market may take cue from Wall Street today which will spillover to the local bourse.
"In view of this, we expect the index to hover within the 1,440-1,450 range and expect some bargain hunting activities for the contractors and telcos today," he told Business Times.
Thong also noted that Wall Street staged a strong rally as traders are betting that the Federal Reserves may be done with interest rate hikes for the rest of 2023 after hitting a "low" on Monday.
Therefore, he said all eyes will be on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting today and tomorrow.
"Whether this is a relief rally remains to be seen as the Dow Jones Industrial (DJI) Average surged 1.58 per cent while the Nasdaq added 1.16 per cent with the US 10-year yield remaining elevated at 4.888 per cent.
"In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index barely stayed above water as sentiment was fragile due to weak earnings from major banks attributed to high impairment charges related to the weak Chinese property market," he said.