KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower today following Wall Street's lacklustre overnight performance.
At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 2.19 points, or 0.13 per cent to 1,639.34, down from Wednesday's close of 1,641.53.
The benchmark index opened 2.48 points lower at 1,639.05.
On the broader market, losers led gainers by 341 to 141, while 355 remained unchanged, 1,660 untraded, and nine were suspended.
Turnover stood at 189.62 million units, valued at RM86.7 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street closed sharply lower as a higher Treasury yield weighed on market sentiment.
As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 410 points while the Nasdaq declined by 300 points, with the US 10-year yield higher at 4.246 per cent.
Over in Hong Kong, Thong noted that the Hang Seng Index (HSI) rebounded to above the 20,500 level as sentiment improved on optimism of better corporate earnings in line with the recent spate of easing measures plus the proposal by the government's think tank of a US$280 billion stock-stabilisation fund.
On the local front, he stated that the FBM KLCI performance remained subdue as it closed flat, erasing earlier gains amid a lacklustre session.
"We believe such a trading pattern to stay in the absence of catalysts, thus anticipating the index to trend between the 1,635 and 1,645 ranges today.
"Nonetheless, buying interests may shift to plantation stocks as the crude palm oil (CPO) futures jumped to almost the RM4,500 per tonne amid improving exports and a weaker ringgit," he said.