KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower due to ongoing profit-taking activities amid a mixed performance on Wall Street.
At 9:27 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped by 0.27 per cent, or 4.32 points, to 1,611.50 from the previous day's close of 1,615.82.
The broader market was also negative, with 505 decliners outnumbering 184 gainers, while 464 counters remained unchanged.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd noted that the FBM KLCI could not stay above the 1,620 mark after a positive start, as strong selling pressure emerged amid a generally weak performance in the region.
"Though this is deemed a healthy market correction, we believe the index needs to re-test the 1,620 level as soon as possible before the ongoing consolidation is prolonged," it added.Rakuten Trade said it expects the index to trend between the 1,615-1,625 range today.Regionally, Wall Street had a mixed close despite the Nasdaq reaching a record high above the 17,000 level.
The firm mentioned that overall sentiment was cautiously impacted by the tepid demand at the US Treasury auction, which resulted in higher yields."As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 217 points while the Nasdaq gained 99 points as the US 10-year yield edged higher at 4.54 per cent," it said.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended flat after a strong morning session as profit taking activities emerged.
Nonetheless, the overall mood on the market is improving after Shanghai announced the easing of restrictions for property purchases.