KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened flattish on Friday as Wall Street overnight performance turned negative.

At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) went up 0.14 point or 0.85 to 1,633.95 from Thursday's close of 1,633.81.  

The benchmark index opened marginally higher at 1,634.06. 

Gainers led losers in the broader market at 328 to 149 while 338 counters remained unchanged, 1,643 untraded and 16 suspended.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng expects the FBM KLCI to gyrate within a narrow range of between 1,630 and 1,640 today.

This is due to the ongoing correction on Wall Street that may see heightened volatility within the region.

According to Thong, FBM KLCI ended flat and managed to stay above the crucial 1,630 level on Thursday due to some late buying activities. 

"It is apparent that market undertone remains solid as we anticipate accumulation of stocks to persist," he added.

Thong said Wall Street slumped as the sell-down on mega caps have also impacted the broader market given that traders are also taking the opportunity to lock in profits following recent record breaking runs. 

As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 533 points while the Nasdaq declined 126 points as the US 10-year yield edged higher at 4.201 per cent. 

In Hong Kong, Thong said the Hang Seng Index closed slightly higher as traders are expecting for some reforms from China's third plenum amid more curbs on Chinese semiconductor companies.

Meanwhile, Malacca Securities said the trade participation of the FBM KLCI showed that foreigners remained net buyers yesterday.  

In view of the softer performance on Wall Street, the research firm said profit-taking activities could spill over to local stocks, dampening appetite for technology stocks. 

"However, we expect this to be a decent buy-on-dip opportunity, with traders potentially looking into stocks within the construction, utilities, building materials, and property sectors. 

"We also favour selected stocks in the shipping industry amid ongoing tension in the Red Sea region, while defensive plays could be seen in the consumer sector," it added.

https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2024/07/1078545/bursa-malaysia-starts-day-flat-against-negative-wall-street