Investor concerns about the 4 interest rate meetings by major central banks were seen spilling over into the local market for the Bursa to open lower at the start of the week.
According to Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, local sentiment started to falter after the long holiday in conjunction with Malaysia Day with concerns about the upcoming FOMC meeting this Thursday adding to the suffering.
The streak is expected to see the local bourse trade sideways with the technology sector under pressure as Wall Street performs.
As a result, the Exchange opened lower today with the FTSE KLCI (FBM KLCI) down 14.50 points at 1,452.81 from Thursday's close of 1,467.31 with a weak opening of 7.80 points at 1,459.51.
In the broader market, losses at 347 outpaced gains at 102, while 256 counters were unchanged, 1,668 untraded and 17 suspended.
Total revenue at 250.12 million units worth RM178.96 million.
Heavyweight stocks saw Maybank and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd add 3 sen at RM8.61 and RM5.40, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd up 5 sen at RM8.67, Public Bank Bhd down 1 sen at RM4.46 and IHH Healthcare Bhd fell 25 sen at RM6.07.
Active stocks saw Top Glove Corp Bhd down 3 sen at 73.5 sen, RGB International Bhd down 0.5 sen at 11.5 sen and Supermax Corp Bhd down 2 sen at 71 sen while SNS Network Technology Bhd rose 0.5 sen at 30.5 sen and Metronic Global Bhd remained at 2 cents.
On the index board, FBM Emas fell 99.56 points at 10,375.02, FBMT 100 fell 97.56 points at 10,117.09, FBM Emas Shariah was down 107 points at 10,471.82, FBM 70 was down 108.04 points at 12,619.54 and FBM ACE was down 59.33 points at 4,774.42.
In terms of sectors, the Energy index was down 5.5 points at 732.12, the Plantation index was down 3.47 points at 6,854.65, the Financial Services index was down 133.81 points at 16,357.67 and the Products and Services index was down 0.94 points at 180.53.
Meanwhile, the ringgit eased against the dollar at 4.5350/5405 from 4.5340/5365 at Thursday's close.
