KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Monday, reversing recent gains, due to Wall Street's weaker overnight performance influenced by high inflation and political uncertainty after the US presidential debate.
At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 1.50 points to 1,588.59 from Friday's close of 1,590.09.
The benchmark index opened slightly higher by 0.17 points at 1,590.26.
On the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 253 to 192, with 335 counters unchanged.
Turnover was at 371.69 million units worth RM160.19 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI finally managed to close in positive territory at the 1,590 mark on Friday.
He believes that the domestic market undertone to improve following a rather muted inflation data from the US thus expect the index to hover within the 1,590-1,600 range today.
"Meanwhile, the weakening of the Japanese yen against the greenback to a 38-year low could prompt possible fresh realignments of portfolios out of the Japanese stock market and into other Asian markets," he told Business Times. Meanwhile, Thong said Wall Street closed lower as traders are digesting the latest economic data released last Friday, as May's inflation is within consensus estimates but consumer sentiment is on the rise.
Nonetheless, he added that the majority still feels that the Federal Reserve may adjust interest rates in September. "As such, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 45 points while the Nasdaq declined by 126 points as the US 10-year yield edged higher to 4.392 per cent. "In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index (HSI) pared earlier gains to end the day flat as sentiment turned cautious on China's growth trajectory," he said.