KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower tracking Wall Street's slow performance following the US Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jerome Powell's latest comments that indicated more may be required to attain its targeted inflation level.
At 9.15 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 0.11 per cent or 1.55 points to 1,450.72 versus Thursday's close of 1,452.27.
The key index opened 1.71 points easier at 1,450.56.
The broader market saw decliners surpassing gainers 304 to 165 while 302 counters remained unchanged.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said FBM KLCI fell for the third consecutive day on Thursday due to the lack of catalysts amid a mixed regional performance.
"The expected bargain hunting activities did not materialise but we remain adamant that this will emerge anytime soon.
"A check on the corporate results so far indicates that all is well thus we expect the index to trend within the 1,450-1,460 range today," he noted.
On the global front, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 220 points while the Nasdaq declined by 129 points (-0.94) as the 10-year yield ended higher at 4.63 per cent.
The Hang Seng Index declined 57 points as the latest weak data on consumer and producer prices last month ignited concerns on the state of domestic demand.
FBM 100 lost 16.7 points or 0.16 per cent to 10,387.87, FBM Emas shed 17.11 points or 0.16 per cent to 10,725.92 and FBM Ace shed 12.65 points or 0.25 per cent to 5,146.58.