KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia concluded the morning trading session on a lower note as investors awaited upcoming inflation data and major global central bank meetings.
As of 12:30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) saw a marginal decrease of 0.32 points, settling at 1,446.80 from the previous day's close at 1,447.12.
The FBM KLCI opened with a slight dip of 1.04 points at 1,446.08, fluctuating between 1,444.26 and 1,447.72 throughout the session.
In the broader market, gainers slightly outnumbered losers at 379 to 370, while 431 counters remained unchanged, 1,143 were untraded, and 21 were suspended.
The turnover amounted to 2.03 billion units valued at RM1.15 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said since the expectation on the CPI will be on a downward projection, the market could position for a less hawkish tone by the Fed and will be looking at a rate as early as May 24.
"The FBM KLCI extended its rebound marginally higher, ending with a 2-day winning streak supported by Telco and Construction sectors.
"Over in the US, Wall Street maintained its upward tone, closing at 2023 fresh highs after inflation data, the US CPI came in within expectations at 3.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) (excluding food and energy costs rising at 4.0 per cent YoY," it said in a note.
Malacca Securities said they are expecting buying support to persist on the US and local stock exchange.
"On the commodity markets, the Brent oil prices retraced after hitting resistance along USD 76-77 amid demand concerns in China despite rising geopolitical tension after Iran-backed Yemen militants attacked a tanker in the Red Sea," it added.