Local bourses started weak even as Wall Street equity markets posted gains, with fears of a rate hike returning after the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) surprise announcement on its monetary policy.
At the opening, the FBM KLCI index started up 0.31 points at 1,467.01 before falling 0.77 points at 1,466.55 compared to Tuesday's close at 1,467.32.
In the broader market, gains at 126 outpaced losses at 110, while 220 counters were unchanged, 1,808 untraded and 22 suspended.
Total revenue at 106.11 million units worth RM40.13 million.
According to Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, the local bourse moved in line with the regional market after the BOJ's surprise announcement but there is a possibility of a rebound when the sell-off on Wall Street stalled overnight.
Heavyweight stocks saw Maybank rise 1 sen to RM8.71, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd added 6 sen to RM8.24 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd lost 3 sen to RM5.79 while Public Bank Bhd remained at RM4.37 and Tenaga Nasional Bhd ( TNB) flat at RM9.18.
Active stocks saw Nylex (Malaysia) Bhd up 4.5 sen at 36.5 sen, Opcom Holdings Bhd gained 3 sen at 76 sen, YX Precious Metals Bhd jumped 1.5 sen at 25 sen while Industronics Bhd fell 0.5 sen at 10.5 sen and Jaks Resources Bhd lost 1.5 sen at 26.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas index gained 0.26 points at 10,533.11, the FBM Emas Shariah index fell 5.38 points at 10,646.45, the FBM 70 index gained 21.35 points at 12,884.56, the FBM ACE added 25.18 points at 5,499.51 while the FBMT 100 index lost 0.38 points at 10,239.84
In terms of sectors, the Plantation index lost 33.57 points at 6,788.01, the Financial Services index fell 17.90 points at 16,530.45 while the Energy index jumped 3.32 points at 786.52 and the Products and Services index gained 0.39 points at 178.12.
