KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower, mirroring the overnight downturn in the U.S. stock market, said analysts.
At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 4.91 points to 1,458.49 from yesterday's closing of 1,463.40.
The index opened 2.81 points lower at 1,460.59.
Market breadth was negative, with decliners leading gainers 185 to 133, while 259 counters were unchanged, 1,797 untraded and 10 others suspended.
Tradeview Capital fund manager Neoh Jia Man said the decline in U.S. stocks was attributed to underwhelming earnings reports from various retailers and signals indicating that the Federal Reserve intends to maintain a restrictive monetary policy.
"In the wake of lackluster regional market performance and increased profit-taking activities, the overall market sentiment is expected to remain subdued.
"However, the forthcoming earnings releases from several index heavyweights scheduled for today could significantly influence the performance of the FBMKLCI index," he told Business Times.
On the global front, Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street fell on Tuesday as traders began to assess the Federal Reserve minutes which did not mention any rate cut.
Instead, it indicated that the policy would remain restrictive amid concerns inflation may return, he added.
Back home, he said the FBM KLCI rebounded yesterday and managed to hover above the 1,460 level throughout the day from bargain hunting on stocks that were trashed down previously namely the Telcos and Energy sectors.
"For today, we reckon sentiment to stay cautious thus expect the index to trend between the 1,460-1,465 range today," said Pak Leng.