Bursa Malaysia opened lower this morning in contrast to regional markets as market risk appetite was weighed down by concerns over possible restrictions on movement in some states and the uncertainty plaguing the local political landscape.
At 9.06am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) market indicator dropped 9.52 points to 1,582.45 after opening 2.44 points lower at 1,589.53, compared to the closing level of 1,591.97 yesterday.
Bernama reported that in the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers by 363 to 149 while 1,305 counters were unchanged, 266 untraded and 13 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 859.88 million units worth RM358.78 million.
Rakuten Trade, Sdn Bhd Head of Research Kenny Yee Shen Pin said the FBM KLCI, which was sold more yesterday, may face a challenging path in the future.
"However, we expect some low-priced stock buying activities to take place. Therefore, we predict the index to be in the range of 1,585 to 1,600 today, "he said in a note today.
Meanwhile, crude palm oil futures reached RM4,000 a tonne, while benchmark Brent crude closed higher at US $ 54.30 a barrel following a drop in supply.
In the local market, heavyweights such as Maybank fell four sen to RM8.20, Public Bank declined 20 sen to RM20.14, Tenaga declined 16 sen to RM10.26, Petronas Chemicals fell two sen to RM7.08 and Top Glove declined three. sen to RM5.73.
However, IHH Healthcare added eight sen to RM5.63.
Among active stocks, Advance Synergy fell one sen to 17 sen, while Vortex, Ageson, Iris and Talam were flat at six sen, 13 sen, 37 sen and three sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Gold Index was down 76.08 points to 11,403.41, the FBMT 100 Index fell 78.64 points to 11,145.15, the FBM 70 fell 147.71 points to 14,515.72, the FBM Gold Shariah Index fell 61.79 points to 12,786.63 and the FBM ACE fell 29.72 points to 10,535.56.
Meanwhile, the Industrial Products and Services Index fell 0.66 points to 171.91, the Financial Services Index fell 119.16 points to 14,851.21, while the Plantation Index rose 3.05 points to 7,350.22.
