BURSA Malaysia opened lower today despite the improved regional market sentiment after a rally on Wall Street overnight, said an analyst.

At 9.10am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shaved 0.86 of a point to 1,497.1 from Monday’s close of 1,497.96.

The benchmark index opened 0.56 points lower at 1,497.4.

However, on the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 192 to 113, while 233 counters were unchanged, 1,803 untraded and nine others suspended.

Turnover stood at 290.1 million units worth RM87.81 million.

Wall Street extended its winning streak yesterday, rallying to a sharply higher close with energy and technology shares helping the three major US stock indexes touch a two-week high.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd VP of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street trended higher as traders believed that inflation might have peaked in the US, thus easing concerns over the US Federal Reserve’s tough stance on future rate hikes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 230 points, while the Nasdaq gained 154 points while the US 10-year yield edged higher to 3.36%.

“As for the local bourse, the FBM KLCI failed to stay above the 1,500 level on Monday, despite going above that level in the early trading session.

“Though overall sentiment on the local bourse remains cautious, we expect selected buying to persist today, in particular the technology sector as well as telecommunication counters after yesterday’s decline,” Thong told Bernama.

He reckons that the oil and gas sector may see some buying as Brent crude continued its upside trend of US$94 (RM423) per barrel as the Iran nuclear deal faded, prompting oil supply worries.

Meanwhile, Bursa heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd added three sen to RM9.02, both CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and IHH Healthcare Bhd gained four sen to RM5.51 and RM6.25, respectively, while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd declined seven sen to RM8.82 and Public Bank Bhd was flat at RM4.62.

Of the actives, CSH Alliance Bhd eased half-a-sen to four sen, Impiana Hotels Bhd decreased one sen to 1.5 sen and Aimflex Bhd edged up half-a-sen to 13.5 sen, while MQ Technology Bhd and Vinvest Capital Holdings Bhd were flat at 3.5 sen and 20 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 1.86 points better at 10,657.45, the FBM T100 Index rose 0.91 of-a-point to 10,400.51, the FBM Emas Shariah Index strengthened 11.08 points to 10,734.03, the FBM 70 expanded 28.66 points to 12,872.63 and the FBM ACE was 16.53 points stronger at 4,910.72.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index firmed 2.17 points to 718.63 and the Plantation Index bagged 30.08 points to 7,007.5, while the Industrial Products and Services Index shaved 0.35 of-a-point to 184.83 and the Financial Services Index gave up 10.94 points to 16,874.88. — Bernama / pic Muhd Amin Naharul