KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 3): Bursa Malaysia opened mixed on Wednesday, tracking the overnight Wall Street performance, which closed mixed following the recent massive rally that may have experienced some market indigestion as valuations outpaced fundamentals. 

At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI had slid 2.28 points to 1,450.82, from Tuesday's close at 1,453.10.

The benchmark index opened 0.56 of a point easier at 1,452.54.

On the broader market, gainers led losers 161 to 149, while 284 counters were unchanged, 1,634 untraded and 22 suspended.

Turnover amounted to 278.18 million units worth RM71.76 million.

Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said markets in the US were further aggravated by British bank Barclays' downgrade on Apple, which led the stock to decline by 3%.

As such, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 25 points, while the Nasdaq lost 245 points, with the US 10-year Treasury yield inching higher to 3.94%.

Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index started the new year on a weak note, as sentiment remained cautious following the latest economic data from China, which showed an uneven recovery, and that overall confidence was still subdued.

On the home front, the KLCI settled lower, as trading remained lacklustre amid a mixed regional performance.

Additionally, some rumblings on the political scene further affected interest in the local stock market.

“Notwithstanding this, we believe the time is right to nibble on some banking and construction stocks, as we notice more jobs are in the pipeline. Thus, we expect the index to trend within the 1,450-1,460 range today (Wednesday),” Thong told Bernama. 

Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) was flat at RM8.92 a share, and Public Bank Bhd was unchanged at RM4.28, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd added one sen to RM5.85, Tenaga Nasional Bhd shed two sen to RM9.96, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd rose three sen to RM7.18, and IHH Healthcare Bhd declined three sen to RM5.96.

Of the actives, MMAG Holdings Bhd increased 4.5 sen to 17 sen, Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd at three sen and Sapura Energy Bhd at 5.5 sen were both flat, D'nonce Technology Bhd gained four sen to 19.5 sen, and Alam Maritim Resources Bhd added half a sen to three sen. 

On the index board, the FBM ACE Index improved 18.46 points to 5,373.01, the FBM Emas Index weakened 12.16 points to 10,808.82, and the FBMT 100 Index dropped 12.42 points to 10,468.68.

The FBM 70 Index shed 0.85 of a point to 14,632.80, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 18.68 points to 10,959.59.

Sector-wise, the Property Index slid 0.28 of a point to 864.06, but the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.23 of a point to 174.59, and the Financial Services Index climbed 0.77 of a point to 16,287.50.

The Plantation Index trimmed 16.91 points to 6,951.22, and the Energy Index dropped 2.08 points to 817.29.