KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Wednesday as traders await the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium over the next few days.
At 9.11 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined by 0.37 of a point to 1,642.40, compared with the previous close of 1,642.77. The index initially fell by 1.05 points to 1,641.72.
In the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers by 209 to 169, with 280 counters remaining unchanged, 1,822 untraded, and seven suspended.
Turnover reached 154.74 million units, valued at RM121.03 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the Wall Street ended in negative territory amid some profit-taking activities as traders await the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium over the next few days to gauge the quantum of cut in rates next month.
Thong said the focus was also on the Federal Reserve this weekend's rate adjustments in September.
"Back home, the FBM KLCI closed lower following a solid performance on Monday. We believe the local bourse still has legs to trend higher as yesterday's selling was well absorbed.
"Although the daily volume traded remained low, we believe market velocity is gathering traction, thus anticipating shares traded to improve over time.
"For today, we expect the index to trend within the 1,640-1,650 range," he told the Business Times.
Among the heavyweights, Public Bank Bhd fell 7 sen to RM4.60, Tenaga Nasional Bhd fell 12 sen to RM13.88, and IHH Healthcare Bhd was flat at RM6.32.