KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower trailing Wall Street retreat as hotter than anticipated inflation data left traders contending with likely delays in Federal Reserve rate cuts.
At 9 am, FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM) KLCI was down 0.2 points to 1,533.02 versus Friday's close of 1,533.55.
The key index opened 0.20 points lower at 1,533.35.
Gainers outpaced losers 178 to 158 on the broader market, while 293 counters were unchanged.
Turnover stood at 246.41 million units worth RM55.58 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI closed on an 18-month high last week as buying by foreign funds continued.
In view of the US markets facing numerous headwinds, Thong said it is understandable that some funds will flow into this region to find some stability. "Nonetheless, we noticed retail participation remains low and will improve this week when all are back to work.
"For today, we expect the index to hover within the 1,535-1,545 range," he told the Business Times.
Among heavyweight, Tenaga Nasional Bhd slid six sen to RM11.12 while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd lost three sen to RM6.85.
On actives, Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd was flat at two sen, Minetec Group Bhd up 0.5 sen to 19.5 sen and TWL Holdings Bhd unchanged at 3.5 sen.Ends