KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, taking its cue from another decline on Wall Street overnight following the hawkish testimony by United States (US) Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to the US Congress.

At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.64 of-a-point to 1,392.81 from 1,393.45 at yesterday’s close.

The key index opened 1.33 points lower at 1,392.12.

On the broader market, losers led gainers 117 to 105, while 205 counters were unchanged, 1,867 untraded and 19 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 123.60 million units worth RM42.25 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street took a tumble as traders digested Powell’s comment that there will be more rate hikes to contain inflation this year.

As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 102 points while the Nasdaq declined by 165 points as the US Treasury 10-year yield inched marginally higher to 3.727 per cent.

Back home, Thong noted that the FBM KLCI closed at an almost one-month high yesterday, buoyed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s recent comments on the equity market.

“If the index manages to stay above the 1,390 level today, we reckon that it could challenge the 1,400-level next.

“As such, we believe the accumulation of financial and telco stocks to persist after the recent sell-down,” he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweights, CIMB fell three sen to RM5.22 and Tenaga Nasional added three sen to RM9.22, while Maybank, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM8.74, RM3.91 and RM5.87, respectively.

Of the actives, Vinvest Capital and Bintai eased half-a-sen each to seven sen and 7.5 sen, respectively, while Bumi Armada added one sen to 49.5 sen, Tanco edged up half-a-sen to 51.5 sen and Classita was flat at 9.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 3.86 points easier at 10,246.60, the FBMT 100 Index reduced by 5.49 points to 9,945.97, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 0.24 of-a-point to 10,516.16 and the FBM 70 Index declined 11.36 points to 13,466.52, while the FBM ACE Index gained 26.25 points to 5,114.27.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index eased 3.07 points to 15,469.22, the Industrial Products and Services Index trimmed 0.27 of-a-point to 159.02 and the Plantation Index shed 4.65 points to 6,719.72, while the Energy Index added 4.88 points to 788.77. — Bernama