Despite Wall Street’s rally overnight on speculation of a positive outcome in the ongoing negotiations on raising the US debt ceiling, Bursa lost its momentum very early in the trading session.

It had opened at 1,424.74 points, up 0.40 of-a-point from yesterday’s close of 1,424.34. However, within the first 11 minutes of trading, it retreated to 1,422.85 points.

Nonetheless, gainers outpaced losers on the broader market by 158 to 120, while 234 counters were unchanged, 1,734 were not traded and 13 others were suspended.

The turnover stood at 236.98 million units worth RM93.64 million.

On the forex market, concerns over the US debt ceiling continued to take a toll on the greenback, giving the ringgit a marginal boost.

The local note traded at 4.5230/4.5280 against the greenback at the start of the day, up from yesterday’s closing rate of 4.5250/4.5275.