KUALA LUMPUR (May 9): Bursa Malaysia opened the morning session on Monday (May 9) lower, tracking the decline on Wall Street over the weekend, couple with weaker regional markets, a dealer said.

At 9.15am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had eased 3.91 points to 1,560.43 from last Friday’s close at 1,564.34.

The index opened 0.54 of a point lower at 1,563.80.

On the broader market, losers trounced gainers 341 to 126, while 261 counters were unchanged, 1,517 untraded and 17 others suspended.

Total turnover stood at 437.16 million worth RM160.19 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street closed lower last Friday as sentiment remained jittery, and traders were unable to find a solid footing as buying activities diminished.

On the home front, he said the KLCI is expected to see some bargain-hunting activities to emerge as the index is hovering close to its support level of around the 1,565 level.

"Nevertheless, the US futures remain weak, thus we reckon it will be another volatile day, hence anticipate the index to possibly hover within the 1,560-1,575 range today (Monday)," he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) gained three sen to RM9.03, Public Bank Bhd lost five sen to RM4.54, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) slid six sen to RM10.14 and IHH Healthcare Bhd was up two sen to RM6.48.

Of the actives, Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd contracted 21.5 sen to 13.5 sen and Pertama Digital Bhd added three sen to 93.5 sen, while Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd and Bumi Armada Bhd stayed flat at RM1.40 and 43 sen respectively.

On the index board, FBM ACE shed 46.06 points to 5,451.20, FBM 70 dipped 36.91 points to 13,349.16, the FBM Emas Index narrowed 31.32 points to 11,174.24, the FBMT 100 Index shrank 27.80 points to 10,827.71 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 34.64 points to 11,659.11.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index eased 17.28 points to 16,658.55, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.68 of a point lower at 203.42, and the Plantation Index slipped 78.11 points to 8,454.99.