KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 ― Bursa Malaysia opened higher today but retreated soon after, bucking a regional trend that took the cue from a better overnight Wall Street performance.

The US stocks ended sharply up yesterday, with the S&P 500 approaching record highs as artificial intelligence (AI) optimism drove gains in Nvidia and other chipmakers, a dealer said.

At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 2.13 points to 1,477.05 compared with yesterday's close of 1,479.18.

The barometer index opened one point better at 1,480.18.

On the broader market, losers led gainers 231 to 137, while 230 counters were unchanged, 1,667 untraded and 16 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 451.32 million units worth RM111.47 million.

Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street closed broadly firmer from bargain-hunting activities overnight.

“This was despite mixed corporate earnings results coupled with the lower weekly claims for unemployment benefits indicating that the labour market is still robust, giving no reason for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates as yet while the US 10-year yield inched higher to 4.142 per cent,” he noted.

Over in Hong Kong, he said the Hang Seng Index rebounded as the recent sell-down may have been overdone.

On the domestic front, he said the FBM KLCI maintained its downtrend yesterday as it closed just below the 1,480 level.

“We deem selling had been excessive as fundamentals were all largely intact. Nonetheless, overall sentiment may have been affected by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's move to investigate some political heavyweights.

“Hopefully a rebound is happening soon, hence, we expect the index to hover within the 1,480 to 1,490 range today. Meanwhile, the bloodbath among a selected group of small caps may persist as the contagion is spreading which will impact the overall trading participation of retailers over the immediate term,” he added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank eased one sen to RM9.01, Tenaga Nasional fell eight sen RM10.28, Petronas Chemicals shed four sen at RM6.72, while Public Bank gained two sen to RM4.33 and CIMB added one sen to RM5.95.

Of the actives, Sarawak Consolidated fell 30 sen to 23.5 sen, Widad declined 7.5 sen to 11.5 sen, Tanco slipped 16 sen to 35 sen, MMAG Holdings eased one sen to nine sen while PA Resources bagged 1.5 sen to 32 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was down 12.80 points to 10,991.31, the FBM 70 Index shed 11.48 points to 14,909.04, the FBMT 100 Index declined 13.58 points to 10,660.06, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 28.38 points to 11,082.88, and the FBM ACE Index fell 38.89 points to 4,747.05.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index lost 12.56 points to 16,534.39, the Property Index was down 5.86 points to 873.87, the Plantation Index eased 7.15 points to 7,117.40, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.62 of-a-point easier at 171.78 but the Energy Index improved 2.58 points to 842.62. ― Bernama