KUALA LUMPUR (April 9): Bursa Malaysia climbed higher in early trade on Tuesday, driven by bargain hunting for blue-chip stocks ahead of a long Hari Raya holiday.

At 9.15am, the FBM KLCI had added 1.59 points to 1,561.57, from Monday's close at 1,559.98. The benchmark index opened 0.07 point lower at 1,559.91.

On the broader market, gainers led decliners 225 to 185, while 321 counters were unchanged, 1,612 untraded, and nine others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 273.51 million units worth RM112.69 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said he believes the index might come under some pressure on Tuesday, as the local bourse will be closed for the next two days for Hari Raya.

"The KLCI maintained its uptrend yesterday (Monday), closing near the 1,560 level, a year-to-date high. We expect the index to hover within the 1,555-1,565 range today (Tuesday)," he told Bernama.

Thong noted that Wall Street closed flat overnight amid a choppy session, as traders remained sidelined ahead of the March US consumer price index to be released on Wednesday, and jobs data on Thursday.

"As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 11 points, while the Nasdaq added five points. The US 10-year yield ended at a five-month high of 4.422%.

"In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was flat, with sentiment staying cautious ahead of key economic data set for this week,” he added.

Among local heavyweight counters on Tuesday, Public Bank Bhd added one sen to RM4.25, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd grew five sen to RM6.84, and Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) was flat at RM9.69. CIMB Group Holdings Bhd dropped two sen to RM6.62, and Tenaga Nasional Bhd added two sen to RM11.46.

Among the actives, Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd at 26.5 sen, Niche Capital Emas Holdings Bhd at 16 sen and EVD Bhd at 15 sen had gained half a sen each, while TWL Holdings Bhd at three sen and Velesto Energy Bhd at 27.5 sen were flat.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 9.91 points to 11,743.90, the FBMT 100 Index added 10.12 points to 11,380.90, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index topped up 9.92 points to 11,904.40.

The FBM 70 Index rose by 8.66 points to 16,376.90, while the FBM ACE Index advanced 5.56 points to 4,986.40.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index improved by 12.59 points to 17,317.50, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased by 0.41 point to 184.82, and the Energy Index crept up 0.27 point to 961.75.

The Plantation Index went down by 4.92 points to 7,476.13.