KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia opened higher but retreated thereafter, tracking the cautious performance of Wall Street ahead of the conclusion of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting today.
At 9.08am, the benchmark FBM KLCI slipped 2.0 points to 1,623.96 versus yesterday’s close of 1,623.96.
The index opened 1.65 points higher at 1,625.61.
On the broader market, gainers led losers marginally 290 to 217, while 356 counters were unchanged, 1,374 untraded and nine others suspended.
Total volume stood at 1.46 billion shares worth RM256.47 billion.
Meanwhile, the ringgit opened almost unchanged with a downward bias against the US dollar, as traders are keeping an eye on the outcome of the two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled to end later today.
At 9am, the local note was quoted at 4.1130/1180 against the greenback from 4.1120/1160 at yesterday’s close. – Bernama, March 17, 2021