KUALA LUMPUR: The extended its losses in early trading today, falling further below the psychologically important 1,600-point level despite an overnight rebound on Wall Street.
At 10:31AM, the benchmark index had declined 8.20 points, to 1,586.99, after opening 3.61 points lower at 1,591.58.
On Wall Street, US stocks ended higher on Wednesday as strong earnings and guidance from artificial intelligence (AI) cloud computing company CoreWeave helped ease concerns over AI-related investments. Nvidia also stabilised after suffering sharp losses over the previous two sessions.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.49% to 52,486.49, while the S&P 500 gained 1.31% to 7,619.38. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.60% to 25,466.19.
On Bursa Malaysia, Allianz was among the biggest decliners, shedding 28 sen to RM19.32, followed by F&N, which fell 42 sen to RM20.12.
Among the gainers, United Plantations climbed 92 sen to RM31.16. Heineken and Sarawak Plantation added 14 sen each to RM13.46 and RM4.07, respectively, while Carlsberg gained eight sen to RM12.92.
Malacca Securities expects the domestic market to trend higher, taking its cue from Wall Street's recovery as concerns surrounding AI investments ease.
The research house also highlighted the proposed US$1.85 billion (RM7.5 billion) AI infrastructure investment involving SoftBank, Grab and PETROS as a potential catalyst for Malaysia's ambition to become a regional AI hub.
It said the investment could create opportunities for construction and power infrastructure companies, including Gamuda, Binastra, MN Holdings and CBH Engineering.
The consortium's longer-term target of developing at least 5GW of AI computing capacity could also generate demand for data centre mechanical and electrical (M&E) services, cooling systems and electrical distribution equipment.
Potential beneficiaries include Powerwell, EITA Resources and KJTS Group, as well as MYDCD, which is scheduled to make its ACE Market debut on Nov 17.
Meanwhile, Berjaya Research Sdn Bhd maintained a cautious near-term view on the , although it sees scope for a recovery following Wall Street's gains and easing AI-related concerns.
"The local bourse looks to reclaim the 1,600-point level in the near term as bargain hunting emerges," it said.
The research house said a sustained move above 1,600 points would be important in restoring investor confidence and improving the market's near-term technical outlook.
It placed immediate resistance at 1,616 to 1,634 points, with support levels at 1,590 and 1,580 points.
Berjaya Research added that improving market breadth and renewed buying interest in lower-priced stocks provided some support to the broader market.
It also expects the Bursa Malaysia Technology Index to extend its recovery from the 200-day simple moving average, supported by the positive performance of the Nasdaq.