Just six minutes into the opening of trade, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) had gained 3.83 points from yesterday’s close of 1,420.38.

The market bellwether opened 5.14 points higher at 1,425.52.

On the broader market, gainers led losers 140 to 105, while 204 counters were unchanged, 1,877 were not traded, and 19 others were suspended.

Turnover stood at 99.98 million units worth RM42.51 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said local equities could see limited upside today as sentiment turned cautious although some bargain activities may emerge.

On the other hand, he said, chaos continued to reign on Wall Street with all three major indices closing lower as traders were still digesting the US Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rate hikes.

“As such, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 146 points while the Nasdaq fell 182 points as the US 10-year yield inched higher to 4.15%,” he told Bernama.

On the domestic front, he anticipated the FBM KLCI to hover at the 1,415 to 1,425 range today with some degree of accumulation on banking stocks.

Among Bursa Malaysia heavyweights, Hong Leong Bank rose 34 sen to RM20.78, Maybank gained six sen to RM8.47, Public Bank added two sen to RM4.38, RHB Bank improved four sen to RM5.52, and IHH Healthcare perked up five sen to RM5.96.

Among the actives, Citaglobal and Green Packet were flat at 29 sen and four sen respectively, while Awanbiru Technology went up 1.5 sen to 51 sen, SNS Network and Tanco climbed half-a-sen to 23.5 sen and 41 sen respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index ticked up 21.41 points to 10,124.93, the FBM 70 expanded 12.29 points to 12,071.99, and the FBMT 100 Index put on 22.68 points to 9,860.87.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 8.05 points to 10,166.60, while the FBM ACE declined by 1.94 points to 4,884.49.

Sector-wise, the financial services index gained 88.21 points to 16,143.85, the energy index was 3.03 points firmer at 711.07, while the industrial products and services index eased 0.16 of-a-point to 172.10, and the plantation index slid 20.76 points to 6,696.27.

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