KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened mixed on Friday mirroring Wall Street as the US equities enter a consolidation phase, spooked by the possibility of elevated interest rates.
At 9.12am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM) KLCI added 0.21 per cent or 3.36 points to 1,603.45 versus Thursday's close of 1,600.09.
The key index opened flat at 1,600.41.
Losers led gainers in the broader market 197 to 183 while 313 counters were unchanged.
On the index board, FBM100 was flat at 11,965.13, FBM Emas shed 0.03 per cent to 12,276.98 and FBM Ace added 0.19 per cent to 5,256.40.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI maintained above the 1,600 mark yesterday, to remain as the only stockmarket within the region to reverse earlier losses.
"This underpins our belief that the index is looking to end 2024 above the 1,600 level.
"Anyhow, we still hold the fact that the US debt ceiling and National Debt as the major headwinds on Wall Street that hopefully should divert foreign funds back to Asia/Southeast Asia regions," he said in a note.
He expects the index to hover within the 1,600-1,610 range today.