KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, tracking Wall Street’s downtrend overnight, while the United States (US) Treasury yield hit a fresh 16-year high amidst ongoing tension in the Middle East, dealers said.

At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shed 3.61 points to 1,442.93 from Wednesday’s closing of 1,446.54.

The index opened 3.28 points lower at 1,443.26.

On the broader market, decliners led gainers 199 to 85, while 221 counters were unchanged, 1,846 untraded and 10 suspended.

Turnover stood at 133.94 million units worth RM59.28 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said although the FBM KLCI traded higher yesterday, the small-cap market conditions were negative due to significant profit-taking activities, while the overnight Wall Street closed weaker with the ongoing Middle East tensions, coupled with the spike in the US Treasury yields.

"We believe that stocks on the local front may track the negative trading environment on Wall Street overnight, and profit-taking may persist,” it said in a note.

As for commodities, the brokerage noted that Brent crude was traded near US$93 per barrel, before ending around US$91 per barrel level amid the ongoing geopolitical tension in the Middle East, while crude palm oil (CPO) was traded at around RM3,800 per tonne.

"Given the weaker market conditions from Wall Street coupled with the softer result from Tesla, the technology sector may take a beating today.

"Investors’ risk appetite may shift towards defensive sectors such as the telco and utilities, while REIT may become more attractive, at least for the near term. Besides, the energy sector may stay relevant under the firmer crude oil environment,” it added.

Among the heavyweights, Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional shed two sen each to RM4.15 and RM10, respectively, Petronas Chemicals fell 12 sen to RM7.53 and CIMB eased one sen to RM4.15, while Maybank added three sen to RM8.98.

Of the actives, newly-listed Parlo warrant gained three sen to 4.5 sen, Tanco warrant and Mestron warrant edged up half-a-sen to 26 sen and 20.5 sen, respectively, Sealink rose 1.5 sen to 24.5 sen, while Tanco eased half-a-sen to 57 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 27.47 points to 10,646.28, the FBMT 100 Index shed 30.54 points to 10,316.02, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 30.54 points to 10,316.02 and the FBM 70 Index fell 62.03 points to 14,017.12, while the FBM ACE Index lost 6.69 points to 5,065.14.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 1.03 points to 175.51, the Energy Index slid by 0.13 of-a-point to 878.56, the Plantation Index decreased by 48.70 points to 6,879.68 and the Financial Services Index fell 17.27 points to 16,148.57. — Bernama