KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 17): Bursa Malaysia extended Monday's (Jan 16) losses to open lower on Tuesday, driven by continued profit-taking against selected heavyweights, despite the positive momentum in regional markets, dealers said.

At 9.28am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had shed 2.87 points to 1,490.69, from Monday's close at 1,493.56.

The market bellwether opened 1.03 points weaker at 1,492.53.

In the broader market, decliners surpassed gainers 233 to 190, while 306 counters were unchanged, 1,463 untraded, and 18 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 504.40 million units worth RM270.95 million.

In a note on Tuesday, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the KLCI staged a minor pullback on Monday, snapping a three-session winning streak, as investors took profit ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays.

“Investors may take a cautious stance amid a lack of fresh catalysts, but overall sentiment could suggest that the downside risk is limited, as the US Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates at a softer pace going forward, following declining US consumer price index data.

“Meanwhile, the market is waiting for the Bank of Japan's interest rate decision, as well as inflation rates in the UK and the eurozone. Commodity-wise, Brent crude oil traded above US$84 per barrel, while the crude palm oil price hovered above RM3,850 per tonne,” it said.

Without any significant catalysts in the market and with in the US in a holiday mood, the research firm expects news of China’s Covid-19 situation to take the centre stage, providing a booster to glove stocks in the near term.

“On the other hand, we believe traders may position themselves for beneficiaries of China’s reopening, such as the consumer and shipping sectors, at least in the first half of this year,” it added.

Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) advanced two sen to RM8.80 a share, Public Bank Bhd slipped one sen to RM4.31 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd lost one sen to RM5.75, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd shed 10 sen to RM8.40, while Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) fell four sen to RM9.41.

As for the actives, Main Market debutant Kumpulan Kitacon Bhd rose 12.5 sen to 80.5 sen, NationGate Holdings Bhd improved seven sen to RM1.12, Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd was flat at 1.5 sen, while Revenue Group Bhd declined seven sen to 68 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index reduced 18.47 points to 10,776.02, the FBMT 100 Index weakened by 18.95 points to 10,470.40, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index trimmed 22.80 points to 10,989.55.

The FBM 70 Index dumped 18.91 points to 13,444.18, and the FBM ACE Index shed 26.43 points to 5,473.55.  

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index fell 13.61 points to 16,545.71,and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.61 point to 186.32. 

The Plantation Index ticked up 1.94 point to 6,901.27, and the Energy Index eased 2.59 points to 818.30.