KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed lower at mid-day break, having slipped to 15.38 points to 1,471.16 on profit-taking and in line with the downbeat performance on Wall Street overnight.
During mid-morning, the benchmark FBM KLCI was weighed down by selling in selected heavyweights notably Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, Maxis Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, Digi.Com Bhd and Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd.
The benchmark was down by 8.18 points to 1,478.36 from last Friday's closing of 1,486.54. At 9.06 am, FBM KLCI slipped 5.62 points to 1,480.92.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of research Kenny Yee Shen Pin said Wall Street had retreated on concerns of fresh unrest in China over more restrictions that might impact the supply chain in the US.
The DJI Average lost almost 500 points while the Nasdaq declined by nearly 180 points as the US 10-year yield inched lower at 3.68 per cent.
"As for the local bourse, we reckon buying activities to return
following some profit-taking activities last Friday as many believe that the local political landscape is improving hence, we believe the better market undertone may lend support for the index.
"Therefore, we expect the FBM KLCI to possibly trend between the 1,485-1,500 range today amid a volatile regional
performance emanating from China's zero Covid policy.
"Nonetheless, we may see some headwinds on energy stocks with the Brent crude falling to below US$83 per barrel affected by the latest protests in China," he said in a note today.
Meanwhile, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Firdaos Rosli said on a weekly basis, the ringgit was traded higher against the US dollar following the clarity in Malaysia's political stalemate.
The ringgit retreated from its gains last week to open lower against the US dollar on Tuesday, weighed by a strengthening greenback and declining crude oil prices.
At 9am, the local note eased to 4.5000/5100 against the US dollar from Friday's close of 4.4795/4890.
He said the market trended sideways following the historic hung parliament and reacted positively to the ending of five days of the unprecedented post-election crisis.
At the same time, he said the recent Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes meeting concluded with the central bank hinting for smaller increases ahead after four straight 75 basis points (bps) increase in the interest rates, bringing the Federal Funds Rate (FFR) to 3.75-4.00 per cent, which is the highest in 14 years.
He added that the ringgit's strength is bolstered by the higher-than-expected third quarter (Q3) 2022 gross domestic product growth while the US Dollar has been trending lower since early November amid the anticipation of smaller hikes in the coming FOMC meetings.
"For the above reasons, we foresee that the ringgit will likely continue its present trajectory against the US dollar for this week, possibly influenced by the formation of the unity government and the new cabinet lineup soon.
"We believe the local note would trend between RM4.47-RM4.51 to a US dollar," he added.
