Wall Street continued its losing streak last Friday as investors were still cautious about the interest rate outlook and the possibility of the US government shutting down.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd reckons selling pressure may spill over to stocks on the local front today.
“Nevertheless, we (view) that the downside risk should be limited as investors may focus on the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) and the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP) blueprints, as well as the Budget 2024 in the upcoming month,” it said in a note.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil has continued to retrace from recent highs and traded below US$93 (RM416.36) per barrel while crude palm oil prices extended their pullback formation below RM3,700 per tonne.
The brokerage expects trading activities to revolve around the property and construction sectors ahead of Budget 2024, where traders may position for mega infrastructure projects to be announced.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 1.81 points to 1,448.42 from Friday’s close of 1,450.23. The index opened 0.40 of a point easier at 1,449.83.
Gainers outnumbered decliners by 179 to 160, while 293 counters were unchanged, 1,767 untraded, and 49 suspended.
Turnover stood at 228.28 million units worth RM97.95 million.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM8.88, Public Bank added 1 sen to RM4.21 while CIMB lost 2 sen to RM5.57. Both Petronas and Tenaga Nasional declined 4 sen each to RM7.31 and RM10.12, respectively.
Of the actives, Land & General and Ekovest were 0.5 sen higher at 14 sen and 59.5 sen, respectively, Puncak Niaga increased 5 sen to 42 sen and Hextar rose 1 sen to 41 sen. Barakah Offshore slid 0.5 sen to 5.0 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index inched down 11.29 points to 10,735.61, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 13.21 points to 10,394.98, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 16.96 points to 10,990.87 and the FBM 70 Index contracted 19.34 points to 14,297.74.
The FBM ACE Index dropped 5.68 points to 5,203.38.
Sector-wise, the financial services index erased 3.8 points to 16,216.83, the industrial products and services index eased 0.58 of a point to 174.25, and the energy index went down 2.52 points to 904.4, while the plantation index was 3.28 points firmer at 6,9930.5.