KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 ― Bursa Malaysia opened sharply lower today taking the cue from the overnight rout on Wall Street after a prolonged rally, amid concerns on the resurgence of coronavirus pandemic and the Federal Reserve's gloomy economic outlook, dealers said.

 At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 42.69 points to 1,514.56  from yesterday’s close of 1,557.25.

The index opened 44.86 points lower at 1,577.65.

On the broader market, loser outpaced gainers by 833 versus 37, while 108 counters were unchanged, 931 untraded and 20 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 967.66 million units worth RM342.82 million.

In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said US stock markets endured another rout as the Dow (-marked its biggest daily decline since March 2020 (-6.9 per cent) as investors turned risk-off mode amid the pace of future economic recovery prospects.

The unabated selloff on Wall Street overnight coupled with the sharp decline on commodity prices may see weakness permeates to stocks across Bursa Malaysia.

"While we reckoned that the selldown may be imminent, we think that the weakness will be accompanied by mild bargain hunting activities on beaten-down stocks, cushioning the initial weakness that may take place at the start of the session," the research house said.

Meanwhile,  Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said Wall Street experienced one of its worst sell-down yesterday on fears of a second COVID-19 wave coupled with the high unemployment rate.

In line with the fragile sentiments, it expected regional markets to see market correction taking centre stage.

"Locally, the FBM KLCI will finally relent from its stubbornness and undergo some downside today.

"Therefore, we see more meaningful support at the 1,500 level for the benchmark index," it said.

On another note, Rakuten said the second wave fears of COVID-19 had also pushed crude oil price downwards with the Brent slipping to below the US$40 per barrel again at US$38.55.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank fell 30 sen to RM7.78, Tenaga shed 14 sen to RM11.82, Public Bank dropped 66 sen to RM16.58, Petronas Chemicals reduced 39 sen at RM6.31 while IHH Healthcare was flat at RM5.50.

Of the most actives, Lambo eased half-a-sen at two sen, AT Systematization slid 2.5 sen to 13.5 sen while Pegasus and its warrant, as well as Priceworth International, were all flat at half-a-sen, one sen and 1.5 sen respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index tumbled 355.35 points at 10,606.36 and the FBMT 100 Index fell 338.97 points to 10,482.20 and the FBM 70 plunged 596.59 points to 12,923.71.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 353.49 points to 12,020.51 and the FBM ACE decreased 363.13 points to 5,473.38.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 7.0 points to 131.11,  the Plantation Index reduced 42.24 points to 6,770.30 while the Financial Services Index slipped 496.54 points to 13,150.80. ― Bernama