KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 13): The FBM KLCI could open weaker today in line with the overnight slump at most global markets.

Despite the local index erasing earlier losses to end the day higher on Monday due to bargain hunting activities, the persistent foreign sellling of Malaysian equity still has kept investors on tenterhooks, more so with the volatile global equity trades as well as lack of fresh domestic catalysts.

Most stock markets around the world fell on Monday as oil prices showed no sign of breaking their prolonged downward spiral, prompting further losses in beleaguered energy shares, according to Reuters.

Losses were broad in the U.S. equity market, with nine of the 10 primary S&P 500 sectors ending lower. Energy was by far the weakest group, off 2.8 percent. The sector is now down more than 25 percent from a high reached in July, it said.

U.S. crude futures slumped 5.2 percent to $45.87 per barrel, the lowest level since 2009, while Brent crude lost 5.6 percent as Goldman Sachs slashed its short-term price forecasts and Gulf producers showed no signs of curbing output, saiod Reuters.

Meanwhile, investors classified as “foreigners” sold RM587.2 million of Malaysian equity in the first six trading days of 2015 on Bursa Malaysia, according to MIDF Research.

In his weekly Fund Flow report Monday, MIDF Research head Zulkifli Hamzah said that after six trading days into 2015, the writing on the wall is not so auspicious for Malaysia, although he added that he would not interprete it as being ominous.

He said that last week, foreign investors sold local equity in the open market (i.e excluding off-market deals) amounting to RM535.2 million net.

Given the less than sanguine outlook at the global markets with the declining crude oil prices, the FBM KLCI is likely to remain lacklustre today.