KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Friday on broad-based selling in tandem with the mixed performance on Wall Street overnight.

At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shed 8.13 points to 1,621.05 from Thursday's close of 1,629.18.

The barometer index opened 4.22 points weaker at 1,624.96.

On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 463 to 128, with 306 counters unchanged, 1,509 untraded, and 10 others suspended.

Turnover was 332.60 million shares worth RM203.65 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street ended broadly lower on the back of stronger economic data while jobless claims for week ending 18 came in within expectations heightening concerns that the Federal Reserve will not adjust interest rate anytime soon.

Thong said on the home front, the FBM KLCI continues to march upwards briefly trending above the 1,630 level as broad-based buying continues. "Market undertone remains solid as average daily volume stays encouraging at above the 6bn units.

"Though some profit taking activities may occur today emanating from Wall Street weakness, we believe bargain hunting activities to prevail thus expect the index to hover between the 1,620-1,635 range," he told the Business Times.

Among the heavyweight stocks, Petronas Dagangan Bhd slid 16 sen to RM20.26, Tenaga Nasional Bhd lost eight sen to RM13.02 and Telekom Malaysia Bhd lost five sen to RM6.50.Of the actives, AHB Holdings Bhd rose 0.5 sen to 17.5 sen.

Rounding out the top gainers were Sime Darby Property Bhd, which rose nine sen to RM1.25 while FajarBaru Builder Group Bhd climbed five sen to RM43.5 sen.Ends