KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 ―Bursa Malaysia opened the morning session in the red today, tracking the decline on overnight Wall Street performance, said an analyst.

At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shed 8.83 points or 0.57 per cent to 1,546.08 from yesterday's close of 1,554.91.

The benchmark index opened 4.67 points easier at 1,550.24.

On broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers 437 to 49, while 146 counters were unchanged, 1,637 untraded, and 22 others suspended.

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Turnover stood at 286.43 million units worth RM121.62 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of Equity Research, Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street was trashed by bears as fears of inflationary pressures ballooned.

The Dow Jones Industrial (DJI) Average lost 1,164 points whilst the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined by 566 points despite the United States (US) 10-year yield eased slightly to below the 2.9 per cent level.

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“On the home front, the FBM KLCI market undertone remains cautious.

“Nonetheless, reflecting the bloodbath on US equities overnight, we believe regional markets would see major headwinds today,” he told Bernama.

As such, he said the index is reckoned to possibly trend lower and hover within the 1,540-1,555 range today.

“Meanwhile, the Malaysian Government Securities (MGS) 10-year yield has risen to a multi-year high of above 4.5 per cent, indicating some selling activities.

“On the other hand, crude oil prices eased marginally with the benchmark Brent crude oil closing below US$110 per barrel amid the confusion on demand and supply situation,” he said.

Among heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM8.99, while Public Bank fell five sen to RM4.56, IHH Healthcare eased three sen to RM6.43.

Petronas Chemicals bagged two sen to RM10 and CIMB rose one sen to RM5.08.

Of the actives, Sapura Energy erased half-a-sen to seven sen, Serba Dinamik deducted two sen to 14 sen, Dagang Nexchange decreased three sen to RM1.02, while Techna-X inched up half-a-sen to 5.5 sen and Country Heights added 1.5 sen to 85 sen.

Among the top losers, Nestle slipped RM1.50 to RM132.90, Malaysian Pacific Industries declined RM1.24 to RM30.38, Batu Kawan shed 30 sen to RM27.10, Petronas Dagangan decreased 26 sen to RM21.26, and Sarawak Oil fell 21 sen to RM5.84.

On the index board, the FBM ACE dropped 83.98 points to 5,238.39, the FBM Emas Shariah Index erased 116.93 points to 11,425.95, FBM Emas Index slipped 86.08 points to 11,014.53, FBMT 100 Index dwindled 79.06 points to 10,688.65, and FBM 70 narrowed 170.09 points to 13,016.54.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index decreased 80.42 points to 8,142.34, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 2.14 points lower at 196.84, and the Financial Services Index dropped 54.33 points to 16,612.58. ― Bernama