At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI was down 9.45 points to 1,520.99, tracking the weak performance on Wall Street overnight.
The early-morning selling dampened hopes of continued bargain-hunting amid the government's gradual reopening of the economy, although there remains opportunity for prices to bounce higher later in the day.
"A mild extension of the rebound might take place in selected sectors as the government proposed three more destinations to be opened via domestic tourism bubble on the back of reducing active Covid-19 cases," said Malacca Securities Research in a note.
It said recovery theme sectors such as aviation, tourism and consumers may benefit from this latest development.
Decliners on the FBM KLCI included Axiata down eight sen to RM4.02, Petronas Chemicals shedding five sen to RM7.91 and Sime Darby Plantation
dropping six sen to RM3.51.Maybank was up six sen to RM8.11 while Hong Leong Bank fell 20 sen to RM18.40. Public Bank was unchanged at RM4.03 while CIMB was also flat at RM4.78.
In the semiconductor sector, KESM dropped 24 sen to RM11.96 following its recent earnings announcement. Kenanga Research slashed its FY22 earnings forecast on KESM after noting that the group's drop in utilisation rate below 30% could mean a slower recovery as compared to other companies.
Most active counters on Bursa Malaysia were Tanco up 0.5 sen to 24.5 sen, Serba Dinamik
sliding 1.5 sne ot 35 sen and Pasukhas up 0.5 sen to eight sen.