KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia continued to see selling pressure as the profit-taking on Wall Street came underway on fears equity valuations are overstretched.
The FBM KLCI opened 1.31 points lower at 1,617.63, as the sharp fall in US equities prices spilled over to the local market.
Should the weakness persist over the course of the day, the Malaysian benchmark could end the week on three consecutive days of losses. However, the market remains half a percent up over the previous week, having established a lead during Monday's rally.
Malacca Securities said the FBM KLCI is expected to track the lacklustre Wall Street performance, with technology stocks potentially being hit in the near term.
"However, we expect the recent earnings recovery in selected technology stocks like Frontken and Vitrox could buffer the near-term downside
risk," it said in a note.
It added that traders are also expected to turn their attention to banking and REITs, supported by their solid dividend payouts, which may be attractive to long-term investors.
The research firm's recommendation for a more conversative play include consumer heavyweights like 99 Speed Mart, Eco-Shop, and MR DIY, in view of their proximity to Visit Malaysia 2026.
Stocks seeing positive interest include IHH up seven sen to R8.29, Tenaga Nasional gaining four sne to RM13.24 and Westports rising three sen to RM5.34.
Top actives were MMAG down one sen to 8.5 sen, Pertama Digital dropping seven sen to four sen and NexG Bina falling 0.5 sen to 3.5 sen.
