A dealer attributed the quick decline to the return of cautious sentiments in the regional markets.
At 9.18am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.19 of-a-point to 1,382.28 from last Friday’s close of 1,382.47.
The benchmark index opened 1.03 points higher at 1,383.50.
On the broader market, decliners surpassed gainers 249 to 126, while 227 counters were unchanged, 1,743 were not traded and 17 others were suspended.
Turnover stood at 200.65 million units worth RM100.40 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street was unable to sustain its rebound from last week due to profit-taking activities as the US 10-year yield broke past the 4.0% level to 4.02%.
“The DJI Average lost 404 points while the Nasdaq declined by 328 points. In view of the heightened volatility, we expect regional markets to follow suit as we anticipate some selling pressure today.
“Locally, we reckon the FBM KLCI to remain lacklustre today and trend in the 1,375 to 1,390 range,” he said to Bernama, adding that technology stocks may face some headwinds judging by the steep fall on Nasdaq last Friday.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose four sen to RM8.49, Public Bank and CIMB went up two sen each to RM4.22 and RM5.32, respectively, while Petronas Chemicals slipped 10 sen to RM8.45 and IHH Healthcare was flat at RM5.72.
Of the actives, Sunview gained 22.5 sen to 51.5 sen and Top Glove advanced 1.5 sen to 70.5 sen, while Sapura Energy was flat at four sen and Artroniq declined 3.5 sen to 61 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index shed 12.78 points to 9,845.54, the FBM 70 fell 50.97 points to 11,853.73, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 10.72 points to 9,596.74, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 37.41 points to 9,817.38, and the FBM ACE reduced 26.74 points to 4,625.36.
Sector-wise, the financial services index was 32.59 points higher at 15,906.07, the industrial products and services index ticked down 1.31 points to 168.57, the plantation index slipped 1.66 points to 6,420.21, and the energy index declined 4.10 points to 664.59.
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