KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower as investors took profit trailing the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index, which closed lower last night.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 continue to chart record highs as sentiment remains very much in tune to recent weakness in US' May inflation data.
At 9:31 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped by 0.22 percent, falling 3.49 points to 1,606.68 from Thursday's close of 1,610.17.
The broader market was also negative, with 422 losers outpacing 370 gainers, while 427 counters remained unchanged.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI yesterday trimmed earlier gains to close slightly higher due to late profit-taking activities.
He believes that stock accumulation is likely to continue.
"We notice consensus had upgraded earnings growth for 2025 and the benchmark index's prospect for 2024 and 2025, thus we have our 2024 target at 1,730 premised on 16.5x market price-to-earnings ratio (PER) from 1,660 previously."For today, we expect the FBM KLCI to trend between the 1,610-1,620 range," he said.
