KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened mixed on Wednesday with the key index dragged by selected heavyweights while the broader market stayed positive.
Selling pressure were in heavyweights in the financial services and plantation sectors.
At 9.20am, FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM) KLCI was down 0.7 per cent or 10.83 points to 1,543.73 versus Tuesday's close of 1554.56.
The key index opened 0.71 per cent or 11.05 points lower at 1,543.51. The broader market however saw gainers led losers 258 to 241 while 371 counters remained unchanged.
The index board was a sea of red with FBM 100 losing 0.5 per cent to 11,126.02, FBM Emas shed 0.45 per cent to 1,,459.36 and FBM ACE dropped 0.07 per cent to 4,718.59.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the key index is expected to hover within the 1,555 and 1,565 range today. "Back home, the FBM KLCI maintained its uptrend to close on a two-week high buoyed by the positive performance regionally. "We noticed daily volume traded for the local bourse improved above the four billion shares level which hopefully may be sustainable or even improve further," he said in a note.
On the global front, Wall Street closed broadly firmer as traders ignored recent hotter than expected inflation data.The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 236 points while the Nasdaq jumped by 246 points. Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index surged 506 points to above the 17,000 mark.
