This is despite the fact that it chalked up some gains yesterday thanks to last-minute buying.
“Therefore, we reckon the index (is likely) to hover within the 1,385 to 1,395 range, with tech-related stocks to see some profit-taking activities today after the strong run-up since end-May,” Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said.
External factors that are also expected to have a negative impact on market sentiment include US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before Congress later today.
Investors are hoping to find clues on the market direction but a hawkish stance by most central banks point to a possible increase in interest rates.
Bursa took the cue from a weak performance on Wall Street overnight, fuelled by fears of impending increases in interest rates, to start in negative territory.
The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) began the day at 1,385.73 points, down 2.60 points from yesterday’s close of 1,388.33 points.
Five minutes later, it shed another 0.79 of a point to settle at 1,384.94.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 172 to 88, while 204 counters were unchanged, 1,831 were not traded and 18 others were suspended.
The turnover stood at 141.83 million units worth RM45.5 million.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 245 points while the Nasdaq lost 22 points as the US 10-year yield dipped to 3.719%.
Among the heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional slipped five sen to RM9.17 and IHH Healthcare fell eight sen to RM5.92, while Maybank, Public Bank and CIMB were flat at RM8.65, RM3.88 and RM5.14 respectively.
Of the actives, Classita and Tanco warrants edged up half-a-sen each to 9.5 sen and 19.5 sen respectively, and Sarawak Consolidated eased half-a-sen to 43 sen, while Tanco and Dataprep were flat at 51 sen and 17.5 sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 21.43 points lower at 10,184.11, the FBMT 100 Index reduced 22.09 points to 9,884.40, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 33.91 points to 10,478.45, the FBM 70 Index declined 20.99 points to 13,360.36 and the FBM ACE Index trimmed 10.58 points to 5,078.48.
Sector-wise, the energy index added 0.99 of a point to 780.99 and the financial services index gained 5.16 points to 15,318.69, while the industrial products and services index gave up 0.06 of a point to 157.98, and the plantation index fell 34.65 points to 6,705.72.