KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 — Bursa Malaysia opened marginally lower in the early trade today, extending its downtrend from the profit-taking activities last week.

At 9.16am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 5.57 to 1,584.80 from last Friday’s close of 1,590.37.

The benchmark index opened 0.50 points easier at 1,589.87.

On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 425 to 152, with 388 counters unchanged, 1,472 untraded and 24 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 574.26 million units worth RM259.72 million.

Bursa Malaysia ended lower for the fifth consecutive day last Friday, reversing its earlier gains due to late selling.

Elsewhere, European stocks fell following weak continental economic reports. At the same time, many Asian indices were also lower, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down by 1.7 per cent, and South Korea’s Kospi easing 0.8 per cent.

"Despite increasing volatility, we maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook for the local market.

"As such, we expect bargain hunting to prevail and anticipate the benchmark index to trend within the range of 1,590-1,600 today,” Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng told Bernama.

Nonetheless, he said the long-term perspective is positive, backed by attractive valuations, robust corporate earnings, increasing foreign direct investment, and improving economic conditions.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank declined three sen to RM9.83, Tenaga Nasional dropped 14 sen to RM13.58, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare eased one sen to RM3.99 and RM6.17, respectively, and CIMB shaved two sen to RM6.77.

As for the actives, Ignenieur Gudang was flat at 6.5 sen, GDB Holding was up four sen to 37 sen, Techbase Industries added 4.5 sen to 25 sen, and Kinergy Advancement gained 1.5 sen to 38 sen, while JCY International ticked down 4.5 sen to eight sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dipped 51.80 points to 12,193.03, the FBMT 100 Index gave up 46.54 points to 11,769.44 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 52.65 points to 12,526.52.

The FBM 70 Index dropped 89.52 points to 17,837.59 and the FBM ACE Index slipped 25.43 points to 5,763.62.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index sank 68 points to 17,348.53, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.59 of-a-point to 197.20, the Energy Index slid 5.85 points to 957.15 and the Plantation Index weakened by 19.38 points to 7,009. — Bernama