KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened mixed on Tuesday as profit-taking lowered the key index after a strong rally in the first quarter (1Q).
At 9am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was down 0.49 points to 1,543.53, reflecting mild profit-taking after the gains of the previous day.
On the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 303 to 299, while 405 counters were unchanged.
Of actives, Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd rose 2.5 sen to 24.5 sen, Alpha added one sen to 33.5 sen and Widad lost 0.5 sen to eight sen
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI closed broadly higher to almost the 1,545 mark.
He added that the recent continuous accumulation by the local institutions is a good sign as this should only force the foreign funds to buy at higher levels when they return.
"As for the benchmark index, it needs to break the 1,550 level decisively to sustain its 2nd leg of uptrend hence we expect it to hover the 1,545-1,555 range today," he told Business Times.
Meanwhile, Thong said gold prices has touched an all-time high at US$2,254 per ounce as traders began their shift from equities.
He added that Wall Street kicked off the second quarter (2Q) on a mixed note as sentiment remains affected by the stronger than expected inflation data rendering the Federal Reserve in no hurry to cut rates.
"While the Dow Jones Industrial (DJI) Average dropped 240 points, the Nasdaq added 17 points as the US 10-year yield eased marginally to 4.317 per cent.
"Hong Kong market will resume trading today," he noted.