This, followed by the rising tension in the Middle East further dampened sentiments, dealers said.

Apex Securities Bhd head of research Kenneth Leong said the downtrend in the local bourse stemmed from concerns over the hawkish bias in remarks from the US Federal Reserve overnight, which also adversely impacted regional markets.

“For the time being, we reckon that the downward bias tone may linger in view of the absence of fresh catalysts.

“Going forward, we expect investors to continue to monitor the developments surrounding the geopolitical tension in the Middle East,” he told Bernama.

Leong said investors could also monitor the ongoing batch of US corporate earnings releases that might dictate the movement on Wall Street.

With the key index continuing to hover in a tight trading range, any recovery above the near-term resistance at 1,446 might lift the key index higher towards the 1,464-1,488 range, he said.

“Should the 1,438 level be unable to hold, further correction may send the key index down towards the next support at 1,424,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng noted that regional bourses were under selling pressure today as the US 10-year Treasury yield briefly hit 5% – the highest level since 2007.

Additionally, the conflict in the Middle East further weighed on sentiments as it might disrupt oil supplies, which would lift inflation higher and lead to rate hikes by central banks, he added.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dipped 1.62 points to 1,441.04 from yesterday’s closing of 1,442.66.

The index opened 0.69 of-a-point higher at 1,443.35 and moved between 1,438.36 and 1,443.75 during the session.

The key index managed to recoup earlier losses during the mid-afternoon session on mild bargain-hunting, but it only lasted an hour.

On the broader market, decliners trounced gainers 558 to 315 while 464 counters were unchanged, 1,020 untraded and nine suspended.

Turnover amounted to 3.51 billion units worth RM1.9 billion from 3.07 billion units worth RM2.02 billion yesterday.

Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index eased 0.74% to 3,076.69, Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.54% to 31,259.36 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.72% to 17,172.13.

China’s SSE Composite lost 0.74% to 2,983.06 and South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.69% to 2,375.

On the local bouse, Bursa heavyweights Maybank rose three sen to RM8.99, Public Bank gained two sen to RM4.14 and CIMB put on four sen to RM5.62. IHH Healthcare was flat at RM5.95.

Petronas Chemicals was the biggest decliner among the index-linked counters, losing 3.743%, or 28 sen to close at RM7.20 while Tenaga fell 1.6%, or 16 sen to RM9.82.

Of the actives, PUC and PDZ Holdings inched up 0.5 sen each to five sen and 3.5 sen, respectively.

Aldrich gained 1.5 sen to 4.5 sen, Systech bagged 5.5 sen to 58.5 sen while Asdion and Kanger were flat at eight sen and 11.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 21 points lower at 10,620.44, the FBMT 100 Index declined 16.3 points to 10,297.98 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 49.6 points to 10,859.95.

The FBM 70 Index decreased 42.62 points to 13,972.88 but the FBM ACE Index rose 23.79 points to 5,129.69.

Sector-wise, the industrial products and services index shed 2.49 points to 172.39 and the plantation index lost 28.33 points to 6,909.97.

However, the financial services index gained 49.04 points to 16,190.33, and the energy index added 6.39 points to 881.08.

The Main Market volume was slightly higher at 1.88 billion units worth RM1.59 billion compared with 1.86 billion units worth RM1.71 billion yesterday.

Warrants turnover narrowed to 332.32 million units valued at RM38.82 million against 429.41 million units valued at RM49.53 million yesterday.

The ACE Market volume improved to 1.29 billion shares worth RM274.58 million from 762.42 million shares worth RM255.71 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 369.26 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (417.46 million); construction (225.36 million); technology (128.5 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (67.32 million); property (223.77 million); plantation (26.03 million); REITs (8.36 million), closed/fund (140,700); energy (167.39 million); healthcare (41.91 million); telecommunications and media (22.51 million); transportation and logistics (133.27 million); and utilities (53.45 million).