KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Thursday amid mixed regional sentiment, as diminishing effects of China’s recent monetary policy shifted investors’ focus to potential fiscal stimulus measures, according to an analyst.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) depreciated 1.24 points to 1,672.14 from Wednesday’s close of 1,673.38.

The benchmark index opened 3.19 points easier at 1,670.19.

Across the broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers by 196 to 149, with 291 counters remaining unchanged, 1,880 untraded and 51 suspended.

Turnover totalled 133.12 million units valued at RM78.02 million.

ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves noted that a bullish short-term outlook for Chinese assets, emerging markets, and high-beta stocks could materialise if Chinese policymakers combine monetary and fiscal efforts, signalling strong economic support.

"Investors will be closely monitoring developments, especially with China set to observe a holiday next week,” he said in a note.

Additionally, remarks from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, alongside US gross domestic product (GDP) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data, will be pivotal in shaping market sentiment.

"With markets in a more balanced state, the absence of strong catalysts could lead to a mixed trading environment as we approach the end of the month and quarter,” he added.

On the home front, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng remarked that the FBM KLCI managed to close positively on Wednesday despite some intermittent profit-taking during the afternoon session.

"Again, we believe that 1,680 remains a tough resistance level and must be decisively broken before the index enters its second phase of uptrend.

"For today, we expect the index to hover within the 1,670 to 1,680 range,” he told Bernama.

Among Bursa Malaysia heavyweights, Public Bank and CIMB Group both added two sen to RM4.65 and RM8.30, respectively.

Tenaga Nasional gained four sen to RM15.06, while Maybank fell two sen to RM10.68 and IHH Healthcare remained flat at RM7.14.

For active counters, Sarawak Cable rose one sen to 11.5 sen, MUI Properties inched up 1.5 sen to 45.5 sen, and Leong Hup International increased 2.5 sen to 72 sen, while MQ Technology and Globetronics Technology were flat at 12.5 sen and 73.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 9.67 points to 12,474.37, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 20.87 points to 12,345.23, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 10.83 points to 12,173.67, and the FBM 70 Index edged down 22.25 points to 17,553.52, while the FBM ACE Index improved 4.64 points to 5,136.32.

By sector, the Energy Index inched down 0.32 of-a-point to 870.37, the Plantation Index decreased 21.18 points to 7,231.76, and the Industrial Products and Services Index fell 0.51 of-a-point to 177.18, while the Financial Services Index advanced 29.47 points to 19,673.28. — Bernama