KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia was trending lower on Thursday tracking Wall Street after the US signalled fewer interest rate cuts for 2025.
The US Federal Reserve which cut interest rates by another 25 basis points on Wednesday, is looking at two more cuts in 2025, rather than the four it cued in September.
At 9.44am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 5.8 points to 1,593.78 from Wednesday's close of 1,599.58.
The index started the day with a decline of 4.40 points, bringing it to 1,595.18.
On the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 619 to 176, while 381 counters were unchanged.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street slumped as traders unloaded their positions on heightening concerns on interest rates, which may stay elevated indefinitely.
He said this came after the Federal Reserve indicated that there will be only two rate cuts in 2025 after reducing the overnight rate by 25 basis points.
"Taking cue from the declines on Wall Street, we expect some knee-jerk reaction from the regional markets but expect foreign funds to seek for safer haven which should re-divert funds back to Asia where valuations are more alluring. "As such, we expect the index to hover within the 1,590-1,610 range today," he told Business Times.
Meanwhile, Thong noted that the US 10-year yield closed higher at 4.52 per cent.
Over in Hong Kong, he said the Hang Seng Index (HSI) finally arrested its recent weakness to close broadly higher on optimism to China's latest proposal to guide state-owned companies to improve and unlock their values while halving service fees for dividend payouts.