KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 14 ― Bursa Malaysia opened lower in early trade today, taking the cue from the weaker performance on Wall Street, as it took a turn and fell across the board, led by selloffs in consumer discretionary and energy stocks.

At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 3.11 points to 1,491.75 compared with 1,494.86 at yesterday’s close.

The index opened 1.97 points easier at 1,492.89.

On the broader market, losers led gainers 195 to 97, while 165 counters were unchanged, 1,847 untraded and 20 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 107.64 million units valued at RM63.57 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said profit-taking activities may emerge on the local front after a rebound yesterday, tracking the negative sentiment on Wall Street.

“However, we believe market players may continue to scoop up technology stocks, given the sturdy earnings visibility going forward.

“Besides, traders may focus on the recovery-theme sector such as consumer as the R-naught of the Covid-19 cases in Malaysia is gradually declining,” it said.

The brokerage firm said market players are likely to remain cautious ahead of the outcome of the interest rate decision, along with the monetary policy outcome, which is scheduled to be released this week, including that of the US Federal Reserve, Bank of England, European Central Bank, and Bank of Japan.

“But investors may also focus on the window-dressing activities in the near future,” it added.

Meanwhile, it noted that crude palm oil (CPO) prices stayed above RM4,700, while crude oil hovered above the US$74 per barrel mark.

Among heavyweights, Maybank and CIMB eased two sen each to RM8.16 and RM5.22, respectively,  IHH Healthcare shed six sen to RM6.50, while Petronas Chemicals gained three sen to RM8.58 and Public Bank was flat at RM4.00.

Of the actives, Sapura Energy eased half-a-sen to 4.5 sen, Opcom slid one sen to 92 sen, while MSIAN Genomics added 2.5 sen to 76.5 sen, Supermax bagged three sen to RM1.34, and AT Systematization was flat at 4.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 21.26 points lower at 10,868.03, the FBMT 100 Index down 20.86 points to 10,563.78, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 24.15 points to 11,701.17.

The FBM 70 declined 23.05 points to 13,976.87, while the FBM ACE strengthened 18.05 points to 6,249.13.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 0.10 of-a-point to 194.60, the Financial Services Index slipped 20.84 points to 15,200.69, and the Plantation Index contracted 34.65 points to 6,494.44. ― Bernama