KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia remained in negative territory at midday, mirroring the cautious sentiment across regional markets following Wall Street's subdued overnight performance.
As of 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined by 0.19 per cent, shedding 3.09 points to 1,596.49, compared to Wednesday's closing at 1,599.58.
The benchmark index opened 4.40 points lower at 1,595.18 and fluctuated between 1,590.83 and 1,598.67 during the morning trading session.
On the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 729 to 269, while 444 counters were unchanged.
Turnover was at 1.80 billion units worth RM1.43 billion.
In a note today, Malacca Securities Research believes negative sentiment is expected to spill over into the local stock market.
However, the firm said export-oriented stocks within the gloves and technology sectors may benefit from a stronger dollar index following the Fed's interest rate outlook, which suggests a slower easing cycle.
"We also remain positive on stocks related to the data centre supply chain and anticipate that the sub-utility and building material segments will trade on a positive trend, at least in the near term," it noted.