KUALA LUMPUR: Expectations are for Bursa Malaysia to trade cautiously as Middle East tensions continue to mount, sending traders into a defensive posture.
The FBM KLCI was down 4.85 points to 1,728.51 at 9.10am with profit-taking in select heavyweight counters.
The performance on the domestic markets tracked regional equities, with selling pressure seen taking hold of Asian markets on Wednesday.
Apex Securities said pressure from lingering Middle East tensions and elevated bond yields contributed to a negative performance on Wall Street overnight, sending the S&P500 down 0.69% and the Nasdaq 1.33% lower.
This comes as US President Donald Trump said the US had not begun nor was making any plans to begin negotiations with Iran.
Against the defensive backdrop, Apex said plantation, financial and selected industrial names may continue to benefit from resilient earnings and firm commodity prices. Meanwhile, consumer and growth-oriented stocks could remain relatively subdued.
"Overall, sector performance continues to remain selective with defensive counters expected to be favoured," said the research firm in its market outlook.
Apex added that the FBM ACE Index is expected to face selling pressure after its recent rally.
In its note, the research firm advised traders to "lock in some profits" following a sustained uptrend over three weeks since the end of July.
At 9.10am, the ACE index was down 22.67 points or 043% to 5,301.18.
Among the most active stocks, Zetrix AI rose 0.5 sen to 64 sen, Lotte Chemical Titan jumped 7.5 sen to 38.5 sen and Pentech rose four sen to 33 sen.
