KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower in its first tradaing day of the new year after ending 2023 in negative territory amid profit taking activities.
At 9,15am, FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM) KLCI dropped 0.35 per cent or 5.04 points to 1,449.62 versus Friday's closing of 1,454.66.
The key index opened 0.17 per cent lower or 2.46 points lower at 1,452.20. The broader market was negative with losers surpassing gainers 300 to 231 while 322 counters were unchanged. FBM100 dropped 0.28 per cent to 10,455.85 and FBM Emas shed 0.27 per cent to 10,794.65 while FBM Ace added 0.27 per cent to 5,336.45.
Malacca Securities noted that for 2023, the benchmark index dropped 2.7 per cent, extending the losses for the third year in a row.
"However, the US stock markets ended with a bang as three of the major indices charged strongly for the year, despite weaker closing towards the final day of the day. "The Dow is closing near all-time-high, while the S&P500 and Nasdaq are just shy of 1.0 per cent and 8.0 per cent from their respective all-time-high levels," stated the firm.
It added Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be launching the PADU system today, which will consist of individual profile and household details.
"This could provide a comprehensive view towards crafting the subsidies for the population.
On the commodity markets, Brent oil traded around US$77 per barrel mark, closing the year with a 10.4% drop as demand concerns outweighed the geopolitical tension risk," it noted.