KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 ― Bursa Malaysia reversed from its gains yesterday to trade lower in the early session due to profit-taking, taking its cue from the weaker Wall Street performance overnight, an analyst said.

At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 3.30 points to 1,421.89 from yesterday’s close of 1,425.19.

The barometer index opened 3.22 points weaker at 1,421.97.

The market breadth was negative with decliners leading gainers 182 to 91, while 209 counters were unchanged, 1,812 untraded and 25 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 122.41 million units valued at RM59.86 million.

In a research note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the United States stock markets saw a deep decline triggered by revived banking fears and a cautious tone amid the technology earnings week.

"We believe the selling pressure may spill over to the regional and local bourses.

"Given the cautious global market undertone, investors may lean away from technology counters especially after Nasdaq fell under the psychological 12,000 level,” it said.

The research firm said sectors such as utilities and telecommunications may gain traction with investors shifting their focus to defensive stocks.

"Meanwhile, healthcare stocks may be on traders’ radar for shorter term trades following the detection of Arcturus cases in Malaysia,” it added.

Among heavyweight counters, Maybank and Public Bank were one sen lower at RM8.64 and RM3.92 respectively, Petronas Chemicals shed nine sen to RM7.11 and CIMB eased two sen to RM5.14, while CelcomDigi rose one sen to RM4.42.

As for the actives, Star Media bagged 4.5 sen to 55.5 sen, Salutica and Computer Forms increased one sen each to RM1.06 and 27.5 sen, while SNS Network inched down one sen to 26.5 sen,

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index shrank 24.43 points to 10,438.66, the FBMT 100 Index dropped 23.91 points to 10,125.54 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 28.51 points to 10,778.02.

The FBM ACE Index was 6.55 points easier at 5,313.09 and the FBM 70 index fell 33.82 points to 13,595.79.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index shaved 0.37 of a point to 171.59, the Financial Services Index deducted 11.21 points to 15,612.63 and the Plantation Index went down 37.44 points to 6,891.17. ― Bernama