KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Friday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street as investors turned cautious ahead of the release of key U.S. employment data later tonight.
Wall Street ended lower overnight, with all three major U.S. stock indexes closing in the red, while the MSCI World Index also declined.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.85% to 53,885.10, the S&P 500 slipped 0.18% to 7,709.96, and the Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.06% to 26,348.35.
Tracking the weaker overnight performance, the FBM KLCI declined 2.4 points, or 0.14%, to 1,734.75 at 9.20am after opening 1.93 points lower at 1,735.22.
Rakuten Trade expects the FBM KLCI to hover within the 1,730-1,745 range today.
Meanwhile, Berjaya Research Sdn Bhd said the benchmark index could enter a period of consolidation following its recent run-up, as investors digest gains accumulated over the past few sessions while awaiting fresh catalysts.
Nonetheless, the research house expects the market's underlying tone to remain constructive, supported by resilient domestic economic conditions, sustained foreign fund inflows and improving corporate earnings prospects.
It added that investors will be closely monitoring the release of the latest U.S. unemployment rate data later tonight, as the outcome could shape expectations for the Federal Reserve's policy trajectory and influence sentiment across regional equity markets.
"Technically, the key index has formed a bearish candlestick and could enter a consolidation phase. The immediate resistance levels are at 1,756 points, followed by 1,770 points.
"Meanwhile, near-term support levels are pegged at 1,720 points and 1,711 points, respectively," Berjaya Research said.
Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries
fell 46 sen to RM47.20, United Plantations shed 42 sen to RM33.78, Pentamaster eased 24 sen to RM5.47 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong declined 20 sen to RM21.40.
Among the top gainers, Tong Herr surged 50 sen to RM2.40, YTL Power added 20 sen to RM4.57, Heineken Malaysia gained 14 sen to RM17.24 and Press Metal advanced 13 sen to RM8.12.
