KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower today on weaker buying sentiment across-the-board on lack of fresh catalysts in the local market. At 9.21 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 13.65 points lower at 1,655.8 after opening 7.91 points easier at 1,661.54. Losers outpaced gainers by 185 to 119 while 167 counters were unchanged, 1,354 untraded and 12 others suspended. Turnover stood at 195.42 million shares worth RM106.99 million.
In a note, HLIB Research said the benchmark index’s weekly technical reading indicated that it remained positive to retest the 1,725 and 1,760 levels in the medium- to long-term.
“However, the potential of a further short-term rally has diminished, reflected by signs of fatigue in the daily chart after a 12.1-point drop last Friday.
“Moreover, lingering external and domestic risks will continue to dampen sentiment and cap further upside,” the research house added.
The FBM Emas Index fell 80.39 points to 11,396.87, the FBMT100 Index declined 82.63 points to 11,116.23 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 63.21 points lower at 11,986.06.
The FBM 70 fell 58.47 points to 12,342.01 but the FBM Ace was up by 2.64 points to 5,472.59.
On a sectoral basis, the Plantation Index added 3.67 points to 7,112.29, the Industrial Index slipped 17.78 points to 3,106.26 and the Finance Index erased 152.88 points to 14,403.84.
Among heavyweights, Maybank fell 16 sen to RM8.54, Public Bank eased 6.0 sen to RM18.46, Tenaga lost 4.0 sen to RM12.18 and Axiata declined 9.0 sen to RM6.15.
Among the actives, Ingenuity eased half-a-sen to 6.0 sen while Bumi Armada added 1.0 sen to 99 sen, AirAsia climbed 3.0 sen to RM1.34 and AirAsia X inched up half-a-sen to 21.5 sen.--BERNAMA