KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia succumbed to profit-taking pressure on Wednesday despite the positive report on the health of the US economy, which is lending an upward boost to global equities prices.
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Nevertheless, Apex Securities Research said the positive performance of the US market is expected to lead to a sustained upward trend for the FBM KLCI as the improved sentiment spills over to the domestic market.
“The improved market sentiment also presents further upsides on the lower liners as trading interest returns,” said the research firm in a note.
US inflation data that came in nearly in line with economist expectations send US market shares soaring with the S&P500 rising 1.1% to a record close of 5,175 points.
The Dow Jones rose 0.6% to 39,005 while the Nasdaq climbed 1.5% to 16,265.
Over the coming day, Apex expects the local technology sector to mirror the recovery on the Nasdaq, which climbed 1.5% overnight.
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At 9am, the FBM KLCI was down 11.05 points to 1,543.51 as investors took profit from the previous day’s gains.
Maybank dropped three sen to RM9.49, Kuala Lumpur Kepong slid 12 sen to RM22.02 and Sime Darby Plantation shed four sen to RM4.37.
Top actives were Hong Seng up 0.5 sen to two sen , Classita rising 0.5 sen to five sen and Pan Malaysia gaining 0.5 sen to 23 sen.
On the Bursa Malaysia Technology Index, stocks were up 0.2% to 63.12, bouncing slightly higher from the previous day’s selldown.
-TheStar