KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, marking its fourth day of losing streak as sentiments have turned cautious again.

However, traders anticipate bargain hunting to emerge, in particular on banking and technology related stocks.

At 9.12am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 5.38 points easier at 1,481.99 from Monday’s closing of 1,487.37.

The benchmark index opened 2.45 points easier at 1,484.92.

On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 277 to 103 while 217 counters were unchanged, 1,721 untraded and seven others suspended.

Turnover stood at 179.06 million units worth RM88.93 million.

Rakuten Trade vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said buying support is expected to surface later today and the key index would likely trend within the 1,480-1,500 range today.

"The FBM KLCI closed broadly lower amid a weak regional performance spooked by the weak futures on Wall Street yesterday and Wall Street slumped as concerns over a more aggressive interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve resurfaced.

"The DJI Average lost 643 points while the Nasdaq fell by 324 points as the US 10-year yield edged higher to 3.02 per cent,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, crude palm oil improved to above RM4,200/tonne backed by improved demand.

Meanwhile, Bursa heavyweights Maybank and Public Bank were flat at RM8.87 and RM4.59 respectively, while Petronas Chemicals was down four sen at RM8.66, and IHH Healthcare declined two sen at RM6.33.

Of the actives, Sapura Energy added one sen at five sen, Cnergenz accumulated 2.5 sen at 91 sen, Dagang Nexchange lost half sen at 84 sen and AHB Holdings was flat at 14.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index trimmed 43.56 points to 10,512.79, the FBMT 100 Index shed 41.49 points to 10,261.91, the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 60.60 points to 10,607.07, the FBM 70 lost 67.87 points to 12,565.97 and the FBM ACE went down 12.14 points to 4,842.86.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index erased 26.86 points to 16,588.27, the Plantation Index was 53.90 points lower at 7,117.73, the Energy Index slipped 1.78 points to 663.62, and the Industrial Products and Services Index lost 1.25 points to 180.42. — Bernama