KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 — Bursa Malaysia opened marginally lower this morning, indicating that selling pressure is easing up, analysts said.

At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.55 of-a-point weaker at 1,586.61 from 1,587.16 at Monday’s close.

The barometer index opened 1.63 points easier at 1,585.53.

On the broader market, losers inched past gainers 158 to 121, while 205 counters were unchanged, 1,829 untraded and 24 others suspended.

Total turnover stood at 152.12 million worth RM185.15 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd Equity Research vice-president, Thong Pak Leng said KLCI futures rose faster than predictions, thus the market is expected to consolidate.

"We might see second liners moving upward but sentiments remained mixed, not just in Malaysia but also regionally,” he told Bernama.

RHB Retail Research said the index failed to record a fresh "higher high”, with the upside capped at the 1,593.50-point of resistance.

"As such, it is likely that the index will undergo consolidation before making a larger move,” it said in a note.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose one sen to RM8.86, PChem added 12 sen to RM9.52, while PBBank, IHH and Tenaga were all flat at RM4.63, RM6.52 and RM9.25, respectively. 

Of the actives, main board debutant FFB added 40 sen to RM1.75, Nylex gained six sen to 52 sen, Hibiscs rose three sen to RM1.21, while SapNRG and Fitters advanced half-a-sen each to four sen and 19 sen, respectively. 

On the index board, FBM 70 lost 27.93 points to 13,421.45 and FBM ACE reduced 21.34 points to 5,392.24.

However, FBM Emas Index was 6.81 points easier at 11,280.98, FBM Emas Shariah Index ticked down 13.76 points to 11,871.25, and FBMT 100 Index shed 8.22 points to 10,980.81.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index fell 0.44 of-a-point to 202.72, the Plantation Index gained 45.51 points to 7,914.37, and the Financial Services Index added 3.34 points to 16,684.93. — Bernama