KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower today due to a mixed performance on Wall Street last night, as traders are waiting for this week's inflation data.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 8.92 points to 1,549.88 from yesterday's close of 1,558.80.
The benchmark index opened 2.50 points lower at 1,556.30.
On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 220 to 181, while 294 counters were unchanged.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI surged to almost the 1,560 level supported by strong buying from foreign funds especially on the utilities sector spearheaded by the YTL Group.
"Despite the benchmark index improving by more than 100 points year-to-date (YTD), we believe there is still upside potential as prevailing uptrend is merely a catch-up process after a multi-year of underperformance.
"For today, we expect the index to hover within the 1,555-1,565 range," he told Business Times.
Thong added that Wall Street closed mixed as overall sentiment remains directionless as traders are waiting for the latest inflation data to be released later this week.
As such, he said the Dow Jones Industrial (DJI)Average lost 97 points while the Nasdaq added 59 points as the US 10-year yield edged higher at 4.303 per cent.
Meanwhile, he noted that in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index (HSI) jumped 156 points after a weak opening as traders speculated that there will be more stimulus to prop up the property market following a decline in home prices for the ninth month.