KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia tracked Wall Street lower as the US braces for an expected economic slowdown near year.
US major indices were positive for most the overnight session but descended rapidly after Apple Inc announced it would slow hiring and cut capex in certain divisions to cushion itself from the effects of a sluggish economy in 2023.
At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI was down 3.51 points to 1,426.03, offsetting some of the progress made in the previous day's rally. There were 143 decliners compared with 63 gainers, reflecting the overall weak investor sentiment.
Trading volume was 81.51 million shares valued at RM25.69mil.
Rising Brent crude futures helped to lift the prospects of the oil and gas sector. On the blue-chip index, PETRONAS Chemicals rose seven sen to RM8.29 and PETRONAS Dagangan slid 40 sen to RM23.
The Bursa Malaysia Energy Index however remained nearly flat as investors were cautious over the possibility of a looming recession.
Declining stocks included Press Metal
down six sen to RM4.09, Tenaga Nasional fell two sen to RM7.90 and Nestle shed 40 sen to RM133.60.
Among market actives, MMAG shed 0.5 sen to five sen, Metronic rose 0.5 sen to nine sen and MAG was flat at 18 sen.
