KUALA LUMPUR (May 23): The FBM KLCI opened down today before extending losses after US shares fell overnight on Wednesday amid renewed US-China trade war concerns. Reuters reported that a day after Washington's temporary easing of curbs against Huawei Technology Co Ltd provided respite to US stocks, reports that the White House could impose restrictions on another Chinese technology company rattled US stocks anew. 

Media reports indicated on Wednesday the Trump administration was considering sanctions on video surveillance firm Hikvision. At Bursa Malaysia today, the KLCI opened down 3.8 points at 1,599.94 before plunging 10.45 points to 1,593.29.

"With the negative sentiment prevailing on Wall Street, we believe there may be spillover to stocks on the local front, especially in the technology sector as the Huawei ban could translate to uncertain business environment among the tech industry. In addition, foreign trade flows (which) remained negative over the past five days is likely to cap the key index’s upside over the near term," Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd wrote in a note today.

"Nevertheless, the weakening bias in ringgit could lift trading sentiment on selected export-oriented stocks within the glove sector," Hong Leong said.

Overnight in US stock markets, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.39%, S&P 500 declined 0.28% while Nasdaq Composite was 0.45% lower.