KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia was trending lower on Friday despite Wall Street's upbeat performance on strong US economic data.
At 9.43am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 9.84 points or 0.59 per cent to 1,661.48 from Thursday's close of 1,671.32. The benchmark index opened 2.73 points lower at 1,668.59.
The broader market saw losers led gainers 492 to 235, with 356 counters unchanged, and 1,440 untraded.
Rakuten Trade equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street ended positively underpinned by good economic data especially the declining jobless claims.
As such, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 260 points while the Nasdaq added 108 points with the US 10-year yield inching higher at 3.796 per cent.
"On the domestic front, the FBM KLCI closed marginally lower as profit taking activities by foreign funds emerged during the afternoon session again.
"Daily volume traded remains low at the 3bn threshold. This illustrates ongoing consolidation within the local bourse may take longer than anticipated," he said.
Thong expects the index to hover within the 1,665 to 1,675 range today.