KUALA LUMPUR: An absence of fresh leads on the domestic market could hinder recovery efforts over the near term, especially as profit-taking was seen taking over the US market overnight.
The Dow Jones ended on a flat note in its first trading session of the year, while the S&P500 and Nasdaq succumbed to selling pressure after a surprisingly strong 2023.
There could be further selling on the Malaysian market, although the key index managed to recoup most of the intraday losses yesterday before closing out the day mildly lower.
Apex Securities Research suggested that the previous session's intraday retracement underscored the bargain-hunting activities limiting the downside.
Moving forward, the research firm said US policy decisions remain in the spotlight as investors kickstart the new trading year.
"Investors are exercising caution ahead of the release of US FOMC minutes meeting to provide clues over the potential interest rate cut this year.
"Economic wise, investors will be keeping a close watch onto the release of US ISM manufacturing PMI data tonight," it said.
At the open, the FBM KLCI was down 0.56 points to 1,452.54.
Leading decliners on the index included Telekom down six sen to RM5.54, PPB falling six sne to RM14.22 and Sime Darby Plantation
sliding four sen to RM4.33.
Meanwhile, some notable gainers on the broader market included Hextar Technologies up 78 sen to RM22.90, Edaran surging 29.5 sen to RM1.21 and Heitech Pady climbing 23 sen to RM1.12.
Kuchai Development added another 21 sen to RM1.83 while Sungei Bagan gained 19 sen to RM4.41 following the announced asset and liabilities injection into the latter company.
Among actives, MAG was up 4.5 sen to 17 sen, Metronic was flat at two sen and Hong Seng was unchanged at three sen.
