BURSA Malaysia opened lower today, taking its cue from Wall Street’s sharp selldown overnight after the US posted a higher-than-expected inflation reading, an analyst said.

At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell by 11.08 points to 1,476.76 from Tuesday’s close of 1,487.84.

The benchmark index opened 12.6 points lower at 1,475.24.

On the broader market, decliners trounced gainers 496 to 31, while 107 counters were unchanged, 1,717 untraded and 13 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 209.85 million units worth RM106.46 million.

The US consumer price index reportedly rose to 6.3% in August 2022 from 5.9% in July.

In a research note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the selldown on Wall Street was triggered by a stubbornly high inflation, which will prompt the US Federal Reserve to maintain its hawkish stance at least for the near term.

“We believe the local market sentiment may turn negative again following the Wall Street’s performance, so we are expecting an overall decline on Bursa Malaysia exchange, with the technology counters taking the biggest hit in tandem with the Nasdaq’s selldown.

“However, we believe there could be some sweet spot within defensive stocks such as the banking and consumer sector,” it said.

The brokerage firm also expects bargain-hunting activities to emerge within the energy sector as the Brent crude oil price is currently trading around US$93 (RM418.50) per barrel.

Meanwhile, the crude palm oil traded above RM3,850 per tonne.

Among the heavyweights, both Malayan Banking Bhd and Public Bank Bhd had eased one sen to RM8.91 and RM4.51, respectively, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd declined nine sen to RM8.62, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd slipped by three sen to RM5.42 and IHH Healthcare Bhd gave up four sen to RM6.16.

Of the actives, Velesto Energy Bhd was down by 1.5 sen to 10 sen, both Reach Energy Bhd and Metronic Global Bhd edged down half-a-sen to 3.5 sen and two sen, respectively, while SNS Network Technology Bhd and Aimflex Bhd fell by one sen each to 28 sen and 14.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index shrank 104.93 points to 10,493.33, the FBM T100 Index slid 97.83 points to 10,242.39, the FBM Emas Shariah Index weakened 142.91 points to 10,577.57, the FBM 70 contracted 205 points to 12,609.43 and the FBM ACE was 125.62 points lower at 4,775.1.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index trimmed 19.22 points to 708.45, the Plantation Index shed 46.99 points to 6,951.91, the Industrial Products and Services Index shaved 2.48 points to 180.97 and the Financial Services Index gave up 63.5 points to 16,603.49. — Bernama / pic Muhd Amin Naharul