KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia declined from the previous day's gains, opening lower today due to profit-taking in certain major stocks and subdued sentiment across regional markets.
At 9:15 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell by 4.53 points or 0.29 percent to reach 1,539.22, down from Thursday's closing figure of 1,543.75.
In the overall market, losers led gainers 284 to 190, with 342 stocks unchanged.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng mentioned that the FBM KLCI experienced a rebound, attributed to late purchasing activity in the banking and plantation sectors.
"We see such positive performance along with our regional peers as encouraging, illustrating that confidence remains apparent within the South East Asia region thus anticipating more foreign funds to flow in," he added.
Thong mentioned that despite this, market sentiment could be influenced to some extent by the performance of Wall Street overnight. Therefore, it is anticipated that the index will remain in the range of 1,540 to 1,550 today.
"Meanwhile, the crude palm oil (CPO) charged to almost the RM4,300/tonne level or a 1-year high buoyed by increases in edible oils across the board.
On the regional front, Thong observed that Wall Street concluded on a lower note, as the reality of the situation set in following the PPP (Producer Price Index) reporting higher figures than anticipated, leading to an increase in the US 10-year yield to 4.29 percent.
"As such, the Dow Jones Index (DJI) Average lost 138 points while the Nasdaq declined 49 points," he said.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index (HSI) fell below 17,000 points prior to significant companies' earnings announcements, amidst new tensions between China and the US regarding the potential ban on TikTok.