KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened marginally lower as selling persisted amid a declining regional performance.
At 9.15am, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down 0.11 per cent or 1.79 points, to 1,583.15 versus Thursday's close of 1,584.94.
The key index opened 1.41 points lower at 1,583.53.
The broader market saw losers lead gainers (276 to 234) while 363 counters were unchanged.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd believed trading patterns on the local bourse to be subdued today ahead of the late release of US personal consumption expenditure data.
"Therefore, we expect the benchmark index to trend between the 1,580 and 1,590 ranges today. At current levels, the local bourse is trading at a reasonable 15 times market PER as compared to
the historical 16.5 times thus may instigate some bargain hunting activities in due course," it said in a note.
On the global front, Wall Street edged marginally higher as traders remain sidelined ahead of fresh inflation data to be out later today.
As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 36 points higher, while the Nasdaq added 53 points.
Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield dipped slightly to 4.286 per cent on higher jobless claims, indicating a softening of the of the US job market.
"Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell by more than 370 points over the weaker industrial profits from Chinese companies, illustrating that China's economic recovery momentum may be weakening," it added.