KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, bogged down by losses in selected heavyweights such as TNB and Petronas Gas.

At 9.06 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.69 points to 1,665.72 after opening 3.48 point lower at 1,664.92.

On the broader market, gainers led losers 108 to 80 while 163 counters remained unchanged, 1,369 untraded and 45 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 62.29 million shares worth RM29.50 million.

Among heavyweights, TNB contracted eight sen to RM14.22, Petronas Gas dropped 18 sen to RM22.02, MISC and Hong Leong eased six sen each to RM7.39 and RM13.24, respectively, while Maybank increased one sen to RM8.18 and Public Bank rose four sen to RM19.46.

A dealer said the failed military coup in Turkey did not have a big impact on regional bourses as the benchmark Japan Nikkei rose 0.68 per cent to 16,497.85, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.46 per cent to 21,659.25 and Singapore's Straits Times Index increased 0.35 per cent to 2,935.47.

Meanwhile, Kenanga Research said the FBM KLCI is expected to be biased to the upside this week, with overhead resistance levels at 1,670 and 1,700 next week, while the downside support levels are targeted to be further down at 1,662 and 1,643.

Of the top losers, Dutch Lady fell 70 sen to RM60.30 while Ajinomoto went down 46 sen to RM13.04, MAHB shrank 41 sen to RM6.03, and Genting Plantation erased 18 sen to RM10.28.

The FBM Emas Index decreased 25.15 points to 11,632.72, the FBMT 100 Index shrank 22.72 points for 11,337.36 and the FBM Emas Syariah Index slid 34.91 points to 12,193.20.

The FBM 70 went down 42.93 points to 13,154.57 but the FBM Ace was 5.31 points higher at 5,488.11.

Sector-wise, the Finance Index advanced 0.76 points to 14,252.88, the Plantation Index was weaker at 7,527.26 and the Industrial Index contracted 14.20 points to 3,126.35. — Bernama