KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — Bursa Malaysia reversed its gains yesterday to open slightly easier this morning, influenced by Wall Street's weaker overnight performance, according to an analyst.

At 9.11am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid by 1.06 points to 1,628.73 from Tuesday’s close of 1,629.79.

The index had opened 0.87 of-a-point lower at 1,628.92.

Across the broader market, decliners led gainers 233 to 158, while 323 counters were unchanged, 1,656 untraded, and 10 suspended.

Turnover stood at 359.38 million shares worth RM170.82 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng noted that the recent United States (US) market data revealed a higher-than-expected number of job openings in November, indicating economic resilience, which could cause the US Federal Reserve to reconsider further rate cuts.

He also noted that the US 10-year Treasury yield increased by over seven basis points to 4.693 per cent, after hitting an intraday peak of 4.699 per cent, marking its highest level since April 2024.

“Meanwhile, the FBM KLCI is showing signs of recovery, supported by a positive exponential moving average (EMA) crossover and strong local institutional support.

“We believe the upward momentum will help the index regain strength. For today, we anticipate the benchmark index to trade within the range of 1,625–1,635,” he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank fell four sen to RM10.12, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare lost one sen each to RM4.50 and RM7.19, respectively, and CIMB was flat at RM8.15, while Tenaga Nasional added four sen to RM14.36.

As for the active stocks, ACE Market debutant Swift Energy rose six sen to 34 sen and Aneka Jaringan gained 1.5 sen to 16.5 sen, while Aimflex slid half-a-sen to 15 sen, and Jiankun and Alpha IVF were flat at 5.0 sen and 33 sen, respectively.

On the broader index, the FBM Emas Index decreased 8.22 points to 12,538.61, the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 1.09 points to 12,552.80, and the FBMT 100 Index narrowed 7.18 points to 12,211.93.

The FBM 70 Index edged down 8.42 points to 18,935.09 and the FBM ACE Index dropped 1.87 points to 5,464.10.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index reduced by 32.51 points to 19,004.18, the Industrial Products and Services Index weakened by 0.36 of-a-point to 174.83, and the Plantation Index shed 24.83 points to 7,583.97, while the Energy Index rose by 3.68 points to 862.40. — Bernama