Downturn continues on Bursa amid absence of leads from Wall Street, US policy worries

At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 5.21 points to 1,592.28 from Thursday's close of 1,597.49.

The index opened 1.13 points lower at 1,596.36.

Losers outnumbered gainers 192 to 129 while 241 counters were unchanged, 1,898 untraded and 56 suspended.

Turnover amounted to 323.43 million units valued at RM105.63 million.

US markets closed for Thanksgiving yesterday, with a shortened session on Friday likely to limit the market.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said looking at futures, all three major indices are trending positively, an indication that the US market should open with an upward trajectory.

Nevertheless, sentiment remains cautious on expectations of additional incentives from China and whether the Federal Reserve may reduce rates during the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in mid-December.

"Back home, the FBM KLCI ended below the 1,600 level again as hints of window dressing activities evaporated amid the selling by foreign funds during the afternoon session yesterday.

"Given the weak market undertone, we expect bargain hunting to be muted," he noted.

Meanwhile, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd believed Trump's proposed trade tariffs could exert pressure on inflation pressure going forward. These factors could reinforce the case for a gradual interest rate cut cycle by the Fed, translating to a limited upside move on the stock markets.

"In addition, traders will continue to monitor key economic events like the Eurozone Consumer Price Index, Chicago and China Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI)," it said in a note.

Heavyweight Tenaga Nasional lost 40 sen to RM13.58 while YTL Corp and Press Petal eased four sen each to RM2.07 and RM4.64, respectively.

RHB Bank dropped six sen to RM6.61 and Maybank slipped two sen to RM10.18.

Maxis, in which business tycoon Ananda Krishnan - who passed away yesterday - owns a controlling stake, was flat at RM3.51.

Among the active stocks, Zen Tech, Sapura Energy and Pegasus were flat at 1.0 sen, 4.0 sen and 1.0 sen, respectively.

Newly listed today, Supreme Consolidated soared 13.5 sen or 54 per cent to 38.5 sen while Capital A was lower by five sen to RM1.04 despite announcing a net profit turnaround yesterday.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 32.34 points to 12,112.89, the FBMT 100 Index sank 30.51 points to 11,810.78, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 50.05 points to 12,037.52.

The FBM 70 Index lost 16.06 points to 17,847.14 and the FBM ACE Index recovered 4.26 points to 5,153.40.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index fell 6.87 points to 19,100.46, the Energy Index decreased 2.79 points to 816.60, and the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 0.37 of-a-point to 170.23.

The Plantation Index gained 11.09 points to 7,500.29.

-- BERNAMA