KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia is expected to remain weak in the day ahead following its close below the 1,400-point psychological support in the previous session.
US policymakers in support of the bipartisan deal to raise the debt ceiling are facing a hurdle in the form of GOP hardlines who have slammed the deal and vowed to vote against the bill in a House vote on Wednesday.
Anxieties over whether the deal will be pushed through and prevent a historic default sent the Dow Jones Index falling 0.15% overnight, although the Nasdaq Index remained afloat on the back of a rally in chipmaker Nvidia.
According to investment research firm TA Securities Research, trading is expected to stay choppy on the domestic market amid lingering worries over the US bill vote and uncertainty about the future path of interest rates.
"Crucial support for the index is revised lower to the recent low of 1,391, while key chart support from the last October's low of 1,372 must hold to prevent test of stronger chart supports at 1,350, 1,320 and 1,300.
"Immediate resistance remains at 1,450, with the leveling 200-day moving average at 1,453, and 1,480 then 1,500 acting as stronger resistance levels," it said in a market review.
Meanwhile, the blue-chip FBM KLCI was down 0.23 points to 1,396.68 at the start of Wednesday trading, weighed down by CelcomDigi and plantation counters.
The country's largest telco by subscriber base dropped eight sen to RM4.49 in a bout of profit-taking after having rallied over the last two sessions.
Meanwhile, plantations counters remained under selling pressure as investors took in recent earnings results and weighed the negative outlook on the sector. Sime Darby Plantation
fell five sen to RM4.21, IOI shed five sen to RM3.86 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong slid 12 sen to RM21.52.
Making its debut on Bursa Malaysia, Radium dove 11 sen to 39 sen on the back of 98.14 million shares traded, making it the most active counter on the market.
Other top traded stocks included Revenue unchanged at 26.5 sen and Aimflex down one sen to 16 sen.
