KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia continues downtrend with profit-taking in the utilities and industrial products and services sectors.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged down by 0.49 points to 1,592.20 from Thursday's closing of 1,592.69.
The benchmark index opened 0.72 of a point higher at 1,593.41.
On the broader market, decliners led gainers 207 to 188, with 304 counters unchanged.
Turnover stood at 336.37 million units worth RM145.05 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI continued with its correction and dipped further below the 1,600-level attributed to persistent selling from foreign funds.
"We wonder if this has anything to do with Malaysia's decision to join Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS). Notwithstanding this, we believe bargain hunting activities should emerge anytime soon as a swift rebound above the 1,600 mark is necessary to maintain the ongoing uptrend,"he said.
"Therefore, we expect the index to hover between the 1,595-1,605 range today," he told Business Times.
Meanwhile, Thong said it had been a mixed day on Wall Street with the S&P 500 touching a new record high before easing into negative territory following a weaker than expected economic data coupled with a higher than estimated weekly jobless claims.
He noted that as such, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 300 points, the Nasdaq lost 140 points as the US 10-year yield inched marginally higher at 4.261 per cent.
On the other hand, Thong said the Hang Seng Index (HSI) closed slightly lower in view of the declining Yuan which touched a seven-month low as China kept rates intact.