KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI remained locked in a sidways direction on Monday amid a lack of trading direction as major markets were closed last Friday for a holiday.

       At 9.05am, the key index was down 2.82 points to 1,586.19 as the negative sentiment over rising US interest rates and the Ukraine-Russia war continued to weigh.

       "As the Malaysian bourse remains in a sideways range, waiting to find future direction, its downside risk still outweighs upside potential moving forward," said Kenanga Research in its weekly technical outlook.

       The research firm noted that the index remained in a transitory phase but the negative technical momentum is expected to weigh on its performance going forward.

       "The FBMKLCI could face downward bias amid a range-bound pattern, probably backing off further from the support-turned-resistance hurdle of 1,600.

       "Our immediate support threshold now stands at 1,550," it said.

       Among the blue chips, Maybank slipped three sen to RM8.76, Public Bank dropped two sen to RM4.65 and Press Metal shed six sen to RM6.46.

       MISC dropped seven sen to RM7.57, Petronas Chemicals lost four sne to RM10.28 and Digi slid one sne to RM3.84.

       Cengild Medical made its debut on the market with a positive reception. At the time of writing, the stock was up 15.5 sen to 48.5 sen on the back of 51 million shares traded, making it the top traded counter.

       Other actives included Technax up 0.5 sen to 10 sen and VC losing 0.5 sen ot 18.5 sen.