KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 14): Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Wednesday (Sept 14), taking its cue from Wall Street’s sharp selldown overnight, after the US posted a higher-than-expected inflation reading, an analyst said. 

At 9.05am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had fallen by 11.08 points to 1,476.76 from Tuesday's close at 1,487.84.

The benchmark index opened 12.60 points lower at 1,475.24.

On the broader market, decliners trounced gainers 496 to 31, while 107 counters were unchanged, 1,717 untraded and 13 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 209.85 million units worth RM106.46 million.

The US consumer price index rose to 6.3% in August from 5.9% in July.

In a research note on Wednesday, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the selldown on Wall Street was triggered by a stubbornly high inflation, which will prompt the US Federal Reserve to maintain its hawkish stance at least in the near term.

“We believe local market sentiment may turn negative again following Wall Street’s performance, so we are expecting an overall decline on Bursa, with technology counters taking the biggest hit in tandem with the Nasdaq’s selldown. 

“However, we believe there could be some sweet spots within defensive stocks, such as the banking and consumer sectors," it said. 

The brokerage firm also expects bargain-hunting activities to emerge within the energy sector, as the Brent crude oil price is currently trading around US$93 (RM420.64) per barrel.

Meanwhile, crude palm oil traded above RM3,850 per tonne.

Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) had eased one sen to RM8.91 and Public Bank Bhd too erased one sen to RM4.51, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd declined nine sen to RM8.62, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd slipped by three sen to RM5.42 and IHH Healthcare Bhd gave up four sen to RM6.16. 

Of the actives, Velesto Energy Bhd was down by 1.5 sen to 10 sen, Reach Energy Bhd edged down half a sen to 3.5 sen and Metronic Global Bhd dropped by half a sen as well to two sen, while SNS Network Technology Bhd fell by one sen to 28 sen and Aimflex Bhd too declined by one sen to 14.5 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index shrank 104.93 points to 10,493.33, the FBMT 100 Index slid 97.83 points to 10,242.39, the FBM Emas Shariah Index weakened 142.91 points to 10,577.57, the FBM 70 contracted 205 points to 12,609.43 and the FBM ACE was 125.62 points lower at 4,775.10.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index trimmed 19.22 points to 708.45, the Plantation Index shed 46.99 points to 6,951.91, the Industrial Products and Services Index shaved 2.48 points to 180.97, and the Financial Services Index gave up 63.50 points to 16,603.49.