KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened on a softer note on Thursday as global markets positioned for the start of the US Federal Reserve's rate hike cycle next week.
US markets extended their sell-off overnight amid the growing trepidation that the central bank will raise rates and reduce its bondholdings at a faster rate than expected.
At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI was down 2.04 points to 1,528.29 with continued selling in financial counters.
"We expect local sentiment to remain sour over the near term, especially on the technology stocks following the choppy session on Wall Street overnight as investors continued to brace for inflation battles and sentiment may stay volatile ahead of the FOMC meeting next week," said Malacca Securities Research in a report.
Maybank was down two sen to RM8.30 and CIMB shaved seven sen to RM5.26. Public remained unchanged at RM4.18 while Hong Leong Bank was untraded.
IHH Healthcare meanwhile slid six sen to RM6.50.
Technology counters managed to hold firm despite the continue rout in the Nasdaq. While the US tech-heavy index shaved over 1% in the overnight session, investors scooped up tech bargains on Bursa.
The Bursa Malaysia Technology Index bounced 0.34% higher following the previous session's plunge, supported by analyst predictions that tech will continue to be a trading theme in the coming year.
Among the actives, Ages rose one sen to 2.5 sen, Coraza gained 40.5 sen to 68.5 sen and Impiana was unchanged at five sen.
US markets extended their sell-off overnight amid the growing trepidation that the central bank will raise rates and reduce its bondholdings at a faster rate than expected.
At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI was down 2.04 points to 1,528.29 with continued selling in financial counters.
"We expect local sentiment to remain sour over the near term, especially on the technology stocks following the choppy session on Wall Street overnight as investors continued to brace for inflation battles and sentiment may stay volatile ahead of the FOMC meeting next week," said Malacca Securities Research in a report.
Maybank was down two sen to RM8.30 and CIMB shaved seven sen to RM5.26. Public remained unchanged at RM4.18 while Hong Leong Bank was untraded.
IHH Healthcare meanwhile slid six sen to RM6.50.
Technology counters managed to hold firm despite the continue rout in the Nasdaq. While the US tech-heavy index shaved over 1% in the overnight session, investors scooped up tech bargains on Bursa.
The Bursa Malaysia Technology Index bounced 0.34% higher following the previous session's plunge, supported by analyst predictions that tech will continue to be a trading theme in the coming year.
Among the actives, Ages rose one sen to 2.5 sen, Coraza gained 40.5 sen to 68.5 sen and Impiana was unchanged at five sen.
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