KUALA LUMPUR (April 22): Bursa Malaysia opened higher despite a downbeat Wall Street performance last Friday amid the mounting tensions in the Middle East, said an analyst.

At 9.25am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 9.73 points to 1,557.30 from last Friday's close of 1,547.57. The benchmark index opened one point firmer at 1,548.57.

On the broader market, gainers led decliners 367 to 197 while 274 counters were unchanged, 1,535 untraded, and 24 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 445.25 million units worth RM277.67 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng reckoned that the global interest rate uncertainty, coupled with the earnings of some major companies this week, should instigate some profit-taking activities.

He noted that last Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial (DJI) Average added 211 points, and Nasdaq lost 319 points, as the US 10-year yield eased marginally to 4.621%. Additionally, he said the situation in Hong Kong was also not promising with the Hang Seng Index losing 162 points as traders sold equities in favour of safe-haven assets, namely gold.

"We believe trading would turn cautious in view of the heightened volatility. Therefore, we expect the index to hover within the 1,540-1,550 range today," he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweight counters, Malayan Banking Bhd added 11 sen to RM9.76, Public Bank Bhd perked up three sen to RM4.18 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd gained six sen to RM6.62.

Tenaga Nasional Bhd went up eight sen to RM11.68 and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd inched up one sen to RM6.84.

As for the actives, Keyfield International Bhd, which made its debut on the Main Market on Monday, rallied 84 sen to RM1.74, while Ingenieur Gudang Bhd edged up half-a-sen to 14.5 sen, Iconic Worldwide Bhd increased half-a-sen to 10.5 sen, and Dataprep Holdings Bhd went up half-a-sen to 12.5 sen. Ancom Logistics Bhd was 2.5 sen higher at 20.5 sen.  

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index put on 65.64 points to 11,661.71, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 63.63 points to 11,311.58, and the FBM 70 Index garnered 61.69 points to 16,120.08.

The FBM ACE Index increased 6.37 points to 4,865.35, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 50.90 points to 11,820.77.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.52 of-a-point to 185.01, the Financial Services Index advanced 120.55 points to 17,239.33, and the Energy Index was 1.04 points better at 970.23.

The Plantation Index slipped 3.00 points to 7,372.65.