KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower amid cautious sentiment ahead of the interest rate decision at Bank Negara Malaysia’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting on July 5 and 6.

At 9.07am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 1.32 points to 1,448.42 from Friday’s close of 1,449.74.

The benchmark index opened 0.24 of-a-point easier at 1,449.50.

On the broader market, losers led gainers 136 to 107, while 197 counters were unchanged, 1,788 untraded and 14 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 126.12 million units worth RM46.62 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said market volatility was expected to remain and the benchmark index to hover within the 1,440-1,460 range today.

Meanwhile, crude palm oil was stagnant at the RM5,090-per-tonne level while Brent crude ended at almost the US$112-per-barrel mark.

Among the heavyweights, Public Bank added one sen to RM4.43, while Maybank and Petronas Chemicals were flat at RM8.62 and RM9.08, respectively. Meanwhile, IHH Healthcare declined five sen to RM6.43, CIMB fell one sen to RM5.02, and Petronas Gas shed four sen to RM16.46.

Of the actives, Reach Energy edged up half-a-sen to six sen, Yew Lee Pacific and Unitrade went up one sen each to 24.5 sen and 28 sen, MMAG was flat at 5.5 sen, Top Glove slipped 1.5 sen to 99.5 sen, and Vortex Consolidated inched down half-a-sen to 18 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index trimmed 4.74 points to 10,311.14, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 15.16 points to 10,465.82, the FBM 70 advanced 16.08 points to 12,419.62, the FBM ACE decreased 32.73 points to 4,751.79, and the FBMT 100 Index fell 3.97 points to 10,055.74.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 9.67 points to 16,066.48, the Industrial Products and Services Index was flat at 181.69, and the Plantation Index advanced 4.57 points to 6,929.29. — Bernama