KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, mirroring Wall Street's mixed performance amid uncertainty in economic indicators.
At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 1.24 points to 1,601.67 against yesterday's close of 1,602.29.
The benchmark index opened 1.63 points better at 1,602.30.
On the broader market, gainers led decliners 219 to 144, while 350 counters were unchanged.
Turnover amounted to 316.54 million units worth RM127.42 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI closed slightly higher on a cautious note yesterday.
Nonetheless, he expects the market undertone to stay solid as accumulation of stocks continues.
"Thus, we expect the index to hover between the 1,600-1,610 range today.
"We also noticed that earnings reported so far have been encouraging and should act as a prelude for more strong earnings ahead," he told Business Times.
Meanwhile, Thong said Wall Street ended on a mixed note as traders remain wary from a host of economic indicators which are due out namely the producer price index by today and the consumer price index tomorrow.
He said as a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 81 points while the Nasdaq rebounded by 47 points with the US 10-year yield remaining stagnant at 4.49 per cent.
Over in Hong Kong, Thong said the Hang Seng Index breached the 19,000 level to a nine-month high as optimism on loosening restrictions on the property sector and improving corporate earnings.
"Meanwhile, the latest weak credit data from China also prompted hopes of a possible cut in lending rates," he added.
