KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 —  Bursa Malaysia started lower on Wednesday on mild profit-taking in early trade, tracking weaker regional markets and mixed Wall Street cues, while firm domestic sentiment may lend support later in the session.

At 9.15 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.35 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 1,645.96 from Tuesday’s close of 1,648.31.

The index had opened 2.99 points lower at 1,645.32.

Market breadth was positive, with 183 gainers outnumbering 165 losers. A further 314 counters were unchanged, while 2,114 were untraded and 12 suspended.

Turnover amounted to 146.73 million shares valued at RM77.77 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index extended its downtrend amid concerns over slowing economic growth in China, with the HSI slipping 1.54 per cent.

He added that Wall Street finished mixed overnight as investors continued to digest the latest United States employment figures, which suggested steady job growth but left uncertainty over future interest rate moves.

“As for the local bourse, we reckon that a firm breakout above 1,650, backed by strong volume, would reinforce the bullish bias and set the stage for a move toward 1,670. 

“For today, we anticipate the benchmark index to trend within the 1,630–1,645 range,” he told Bernama.

Among heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM10.36, Public Bank slipped one sen to RM4.46, CIMB and IHH Healthcare fell five sen each to RM7.93 and RM8.67 respectively, while Tenaga Nasional rose six sen to RM13.20.

On the most active list, TWL and Velesto remained unchanged at 2.5 sen and 27.5 sen, respectively. VS Industry and Top Glove gained 1.5 sen each to 50 sen and 65 sen, while Tanco rose one sen to RM1.16.

Top gainers included Petronas Gas, which climbed 12 sen to RM17.88, UWC added 10 sen to RM4.07, PPB gained eight sen to RM10.20, while MI Technovation and Itmax System were seven sen higher at RM4.69 and RM13.20 respectively.

Among the top losers were Nestle, which fell RM1.10 to RM111.90, Pentamaster lost nine sen to RM3.71, AirAsia X and RHB Bank were seven sen lower each to RM1.69 and RM7.58 respectively, and Time Dotcom slid six sen to RM5.49.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 7.17 points to 12,092.03, the FBMT 100 Index dropped 8.95 points to 11,891.88, and the FBM ACE Index fell 8.46 points to 4,728.96, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 2.67 points to 11,913.17, and the FBM 70 Index increased 23.20 points to 16,641.80.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index inched up 0.03 points to 760.09, and the Plantation Index advanced 0.45 of-a-point to 8,180.48, while the Financial Services Index narrowed 43.90 points to 19,272.17, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.35 of-a-point to 169.14. — Bernama