KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed marginally lower today in tandem with the negative performance of its regional bourses.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 7.89 points to end at 1,454.83 from 1,462.72 at Monday's close.
The barometer index opened 0.14 of a point easier at 1,462.58, being the highest point for the day and moved to as low as 1,452.48 during the session.
On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 688 to 309, with 403 counters unchanged, 899 untraded and seven others suspended.
Turnover increased marginally to 4.09 billion units worth RM2.39 billion against Monday's 4.01 billion units worth RM2.37 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices trended lower due to profit taking activities following the recent rally.
Meanwhile, sell-down on China's property stocks also weighed on market sentiment, he said.
"As for the local bourse, the selling activity witnessed over the past two days leads us to believe that the market is ripe for bargain hunting, thanks to the ongoing low valuations, hence, we expect the benchmark index to stage a rebound in the near future.
"As such we maintain our weekly FBM KLCI target at 1,455-1,475 with immediate resistance at 1,490 while support at 1,440, said Pak Leng.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said from an investor perspective, it's evident that there's a lack of convincing evidence in August's services sector performance that policy efforts are taking root, contributing to the prevailing angst.
"Also, higher oil prices are starting to stoke the inflation flames again, driving yields higher, which could keep the Fed very observant of inflation trends due to higher oil prices.
"Higher US interest rates could be a severe thorn in the side of local investors' sides," he told the New Straits Times.
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