KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia retreated from yesterday's gains to end lower today due to profit-taking, amid the jittery performance of the regional markets, as investors were cautious ahead of the speech by US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, scheduled for Tuesday, said a dealer.

At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) decreased 8.29 points or 0.55 per cent to 1,485.13 from yesterday's close of 1,493.42.   

The market bellwether opened 3.02 points weaker at 1,490.40 and moved between 1,480.37 and  1,491.22 throughout the trading day. 

Market breadth was also negative with decliners outpacing advancers 472 to 368, while 436 counters were unchanged, 935 untraded, and 20 others suspended.

Turnover increased marginally to 3.19 billion units worth RM1.91 billion against yesterday's 3.18 billion units worth RM1.92 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said, despite some profit-taking on the domestic front, the outlook is expected to remain positive due to attractive valuations and continuous support from local institutions.

"We view the profit-taking today as a good opportunity to bargain hunt for stocks at lower levels," he told Bernama.

Thong said investors are likely to remain upbeat on China's reopening as it would inject some excitement into the regional economy including Malaysia.

"Hence, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to move higher within the 1,480 -1,500 range for the remainder of the week," he added. 

Region-wise, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.27 per cent to 21,331.46, China's SSE Composite Index fell 0.21 per cent to 3,169.51, Singapore's Straits Times Index slid 1.29 per cent to 3,262.91, while Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.78 per cent to 26,175.56, and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.05 per cent to 2,351.31.

Among heavyweights, MISC lost 19 sen to RM7.30, Axiata declined seven sen to RM2.90, Inari Amertron slid 16 sen to RM2.64, Digi.com fell four sen to RM3.98, and Nestle shrank RM2 to RM137.50.

As for the actives, L&P Global improved one sen to 58 sen, Cypark added 4.5 sen to 70 sen, Berjaya Corporation increased two sen to 35 sen, Tanco ticked up four sen to 38.5 sen, while Top Glove fell two sen to 85 sen.