This led to the gainers surpassing the decliners 284 to 71

BURSA Malaysia opened on a positive note today, tracking the Wall Street’s rally overnight after investors shook off a higher-than-expected the US inflation report, a dealer said.

At 9.10am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) jumped by 11.01 points to 1,384.37 from yesterday’s close of 1,373.36.

The benchmark index opened 8.27 points higher at 1,381.63.

On the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 284 to 71, while 187 counters were unchanged, 1,804 untraded and 19 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 190.59 million units worth RM79.92 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd VP (equity research) Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street staged a dramatic rebound overnight as traders perceive that US inflation may have peaked at 8.2% last month.

“In view of this, we believe regional markets would strengthen today, however, whether this uptrend is sustainable remains to be seen.

“Therefore, we expect the FBM KLCI to reverse from its losses over the last few days and trade within the 1,375-1,400 range today,” he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd, Public Bank Bhd and IHH Healthcare Bhd all gained three sen to RM8.50, RM4.20, and RM5.63, respectively, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd edged up seven sen to RM8.52, and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd grew eight sen to RM5.38.

Of the actives, Velesto Energy Bhd eased half-a-sen to 11 sen and Artroniq Bhd lost 1.5 sen to 68.5 sen, while Top Glove Corp Bhd rose two sen to 71 sen, Hiap Huat Holdings Bhd added one sen to 16 sen and Vinvest Capital Holdings Bhd gained half-a-sen to 20.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index perked 66.2 points to 9,864.72, the FBM 70 inched up 65.11 points to 11,906.25, the FBM T100 Index improved 70.85 points to 9,617.83, the FBM Emas Shariah Index strengthened 73.7 points to 9,841.24, and the FBM ACE earned 14.88 points to 4,632.53.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was 69.57 points higher at 15,932.89, the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked up 1.41 points to 169.92, the Plantation Index gained 33.84 points to 6,381.86, and the Energy Index improved by 4.56 points to 672.51. – Bernama / pic TMR File