KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 ― Bursa Malaysia opened higher but turned lower in the early trading session as investors were cautious amid mixed sentiment across the regional markets, an analyst said.

At 9.13am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 0.28 of-a-point to 1,525.45 from 1,525.73 at yesterday's close after opening 0.57 of-a-point higher at 1526.30.

Market breadth was negative with losers leading gainers 202 to 170, while 216 counters were unchanged, 1,618 untraded and 23 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 243.9 million units worth RM135.1 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd expects regional stock markets to remain fragile following another round of selloffs on Wall Street led by Meta on the back of poor earnings, which may eventually spill over into stocks on the local front.

"Investors may shift into risk-off mode moving forward to focus on banking and consumer stocks with solid fundamentals,” it said in a note.

Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.08 per cent to 3,318.14, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 2.48 per cent to 24,392.86, while Japan's Nikkei 225 eased 0.04 per cent to 27,230.77.

Bursa Malaysia's heavyweights Maybank eased one sen to RM8.31, Public Bank remained flat at RM4.23, Press Metal rose seven sen to RM6.17, and Petronas Chemical lost three sen to RM8.87.

As for the actives, Dagang NeXchange inched up three sen to RM1.01, AHB stayed flat at 14 sen, and Bumi Armada gained 1.5 sen to 56.5 sen.

On the index board, FBM ACE improved 4.85 points to 6,130.77, FBM Emas Index added 4.84 points to 10,968.35.25, FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 2.71 points to 11,668.46, while FBM 70 slipped 17.30 points to 13,451.29, and FBMT 100 Index loss 0.66 of-a-point to 10,656.49.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 2.1 points to 15,802.05, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.1 of-a-point higher at 201.81, while the Plantation Index dropped 10.96 points to 6,564.59. ― Bernama