KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — Bursa Malaysia opened easier today, tracking Wall Street’s weaker performance overnight.

At 9.18am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 2.57 points to 1,435.15 from Thursday's close of 1,437.72. The key index opened 2.33 points easier at 1,435.39.

On the broader market, decliners edged past gainers 164 to 156, while 926 counters were unchanged, 1,116 untraded and 19 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 2.92 billion units worth RM2.68 billion

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd opined that the local bourse may trade sideways amid prevailing global and local headwinds, including the political turmoil in the United Kingdom following Prime Minister Liz Truss’ resignation and the still-hawkish United States (US) Federal Reserve’s tone on the US interest rate.

“Meanwhile, investors are waiting for the outcome of the 15th general election (GE15). Given the announcement on the GE15 polling date, investors may position themselves in politically-related counters.

“At the same time, China’s possible cutting on inbound quarantine may benefit the airline industry,” it said in a research note today.

The brokerage added that the technology sector may see mild profit-taking following the Nasdaq’s decline.

Among the heavyweights, CIMB added one sen to RM5.51, MISC advanced seven sen to RM7.13, Maybank and TNB were flat at RM8.60 and RM8.23, respectively, while Public Bank and Petronas Chemicals declined five sen each to RM4.39 and RM8.85, respectively.

Of the actives, Careplus and Eduspec inched up half-a-sen to 44.5 sen and 2.0 sen, respectively, Top Glove was flat at 73.5 sen, while Serba Dinamik and Borneo Oil eased half-a-sen each to 2.5 sen and 2.0 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 7.28 points easier at 10,162.52, the FBM 70 improved by 35.06 points to 12,028.09, the FBMT 100 Index decreased by 6.95 points to 9,910.52, the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 0.38 of-a-point to 10,164.09, and the FBM ACE went down 5.82 points to 4,777.30.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slid 36.91 points to 16,349.96, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.10 of-a-point to 174.49, the Plantation Index was down by 44.0 points to 6,795.65, and the Energy Index trimmed 3.87 points to 679.41. — Bernmaa