KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 — Bursa Malaysia extended yesterday’s downtrend this morning as the market sentiment remained clouded by the latest developments in the local political scene.

At 9.09am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 5.18 points to 1,436.11 from 1,441.29 on Tuesday.

The market bellwether opened 9.39 points weaker at 1,431.9.

On the broader market, losers edged past gainers 152 to 141, while 195 counters were unchanged, 1,813 untraded and 84 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 209.97 million units worth RM99.28 million.

In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the upside on the local front could be capped due to the fluid developments in the political scene.

It said greater clarity on the selection of Malaysia’s 10th prime minister would boost investors’ confidence.

“Meanwhile, apolitical stocks with solid fundamentals may trend amid the ongoing uncertainties — banking, telecommunication and utilities stocks may shine. Additionally, export-oriented companies might be in favour following the strong US dollar,” it said.

The brokerage firm said investors might also focus on the ongoing reporting season to uncover gems with growing earnings.

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of Equity Research, Thong Pak Leng expects the sentiment to remain cautious over the next few days until there is more clarity on the political front.

“As such, we expect the index to possibly hover within the 1,430-1,450 range today as speculations continue with market participants staying on the sidelines,” he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweights, Public Bank slipped one sen to RM4.28, Petronas Chemicals shed two sen to RM8.68, Tenaga lost nine sen to RM8.35, and Hong Leong Bank decreased six sen to RM20.50.

Maybank was flat at RM8.54, while both CIMB and IHH Healthcare perked by one sen each to RM5.52 and RM5.93, respectively.

Among the actives, Advance Synergy was flat at 18 sen, Eca Integrated rose 53.3 sen to 70.5 sen, Eden bagged 1.5 sen to 19 sen, Malayan United inched up half-a-sen to 10.5 sen, while Malaysia Steel and P.A Resources added one sen each to 43.5 sen and 26.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index contracted by 25.91 points to 10,221.25, the FBM Emas Shariah Index erased 28.8 points to 10,350.46, the FBMT 100 Index gave up 26.86 points to 9,949.77, and the FBM ACE fell 61.82 points to 4,910.61.

However, the FBM 70 gained 3.48 points to 12,207.11.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was 30.04 points lower at 16,141.87, the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 0.13 of-a-point to 178.72 and the Plantation Index lost 51.38 points to 6,790.84, while the Energy Index added 0.18 of-a-point to 729.46. — Bernama