KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened slightly higher but declined thereafter as weak market sentiment caused index-linked stocks to fall.

At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 12.23 points to 1,542.26 from Friday's 1,554.49, after opening 2.58 points firmer at 1,557.07 this morning.

Market breadth was negative as losers outpaced gainers 295 to 114, with 167 counters unchanged, 1,407 untraded and 36 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 246.51 million shares worth RM137.50 million.

In a note, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said that with the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) still unrelenting, and the latest job data in the United States compounding already battered confidence, Wall Street succumbed to profit-taking activities across the board.

"Therefore, we believe regional markets will face some headwinds today. We expect the FBM KLCI to dip below its immediate support of 1,550.

"Meanwhile, we reckon if this pandemic is prolonged, there is a high likelihood that the Feds (Federal Reserve) may look at reducing interest rates again to boost the US economy," it added.

Among the heavyweights on Bursa Malaysia, Maybank eased four sen to RM8.47, Tenaga fell 40 sen to RM12.34, while Public Bank and Petronas Chemicals were each 16 sen lower at RM18.18 and RM6.29, respectively.

Of the actives, DGB Asia lost half-a-sen to nine sen, Securemetric added two sen to 23 sen and AirAsia decreased six sen to RM1.25.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 76.41 points to 10,983.76, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 86.85 points to 11,679.36 and the FBMT 100 Index lost 81.02 points to 10,779.69.

The FBM 70 was 85.08 points weaker at 13,739.60 and the FBM Ace dipped 31.98 points to 5,489.80.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 1.26 points to 144.12, the Financial Services Index was 102.15 points lower at 14,879.01 and the Plantation Index perked 14.97 points to 7,322.88. 

 - Bernama