KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — Bursa Malaysia opened easier today, taking its cue from the Wall Street which closed lower overnight on mixed economic messages.

At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped by 1.07 points to 1,433.67 from yesterday’s close of 1,434.74.

The main index opened 0.87 lower at 1,433.87.

The market breadth was negative as decliners edged past gainers 123 to 114, while 224 counters were unchanged, 1,814 untraded and 29 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 190.80 million units worth RM61.97 million.

Yesterday, the United States Bureau of Labour Statistics reported that the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) decreased to five per cent year-on-year in March from six per cent in February — below the market’s expectation of 5.2 per cent and the lowest number recorded since May 2021.

However, the core CPI remained well above the US Federal Reserve’s average annual two per cent target rate.

In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said despite the slower-than-expected US inflation data, cautious sentiments may persist as the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes suggested rising recession risks in the US economy.

"At the same time, we believe further profit-taking activities may emerge in the regional markets as well as the local bourse,” it said.

Among the heavyweights, Public Bank was down by one sen to RM4.01, Petronas Chemicals declined by two sen to RM7.37 and Maybank was flat at RM8.70, while CIMB ticked up one sen to RM5.25 and Tenaga Nasional rose four sen to RM9.05.

As for the actives, MN Holdings trimmed half-a-sen to 33.5 sen, Hong Seng and Revenue Group were flat at 13 sen and 33 sen, respectively, while Salutica climbed 5.5 sen to 82 sen and Jade Marvel grew one sen to 31 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dwindled 2.97 points to 10,552.99, the FBMT 100 Index trimmed 3.37 points to 10,231.21 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 6.29 points to 10,896.68, while the FBM ACE Index was 18.0 points higher at 5,326.90 and the FBM 70 index climbed 13.08 points to 13,827.95.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index improved by 9.88 points to 15,794.80, the Industrial Products and Services Index shrank 0.46 of-a-point to 174.75, while the Energy Index grew 5.76 points to 888.32 and the Plantation Index increased by 2.85 points to 6,860.82. — Bernama