Lack of Drivers, Bursa Malaysia Continues to Open Low

<p>&nbsp;Bursa Malaysia continued to open lower today due to a lack of catalyst after Wall Street showed a mixed performance last week.</p><p><br /></p><p>It also closed lower to end the trading session this morning.</p><p><br /></p><p>At exactly 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 4.88 points to 1,455.79 from 1,460.67 when it closed on Friday last week.</p><p><br /></p><p>The main index fell 0.41 points to 1,460.26 before hitting a low of 1,454.12 in early trade. The market environment was negative with losers outpacing gainers and 434 counters unchanged. 1,176 counters were not traded and nine others were suspended.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Trading revenue is worth RM 822.93 million, with 1.66 billion units sold.</p><p><br /></p><p>According to Malacca Securities Sdn. Bhd, investors will focus on the minutes of the United States (US) Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that will be released in the middle of this week to examine and obtain the direction of interest rates.</p><p><br /></p><p>Other data such as unemployment benefit claims as well as the Purchasing Managers' Index (PPI) to be released on Friday will also be scrutinized based on his research note.</p><p><br /></p><p>Counter heavyweights such as Maybank and Tenaga Nasional remained unchanged. Meanwhile, active stocks such as Hong Seng, Sarawak Consolidated and LeForm showed an increase.</p>