The benchmark index opened 4.02 points higher at 1,455.50 from Wednesday’s close of 1,451.48, but retracted to 1,452.43 at 9.05 am.

On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 119 to 97, while 177 counters were unchanged, 1,889 untraded and 65 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 93.22 million units worth RM50.15 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said major indices on Wall Street struggled to make a significant rebound, with the sentiment remaining jittery due to recession fears.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 82.32 points, S&P 500 eased by 2.72 points and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 3.65 points, while the United States (US) Treasury 10-year yield edged lower to 3.09%.

Trading on the local bourse is expected to stay subdued today due to a lack of catalysts.

“As such, we expect the key index to move within the 1,440-1,460 range,” Thong told Bernama.

He noted that crude palm oil price had eased to RM5,080 per tonne due to weaker exports data, and Brent crude also ended lower at US$116 per barrel on news that the US may release more oil from its stockpile.

Among the heavyweight stocks, Hartalega and Sime Darby Plantation rose eight sen each to RM3.03 and RM4.41, respectively, while Hong Leong Financial Group added three sen to RM18.90, MRDIY eased two sen to RM2.03, and Top Glove dipped one sen to RM1.11.

Maybank declined seven sen to RM8.58 and Telekom Malaysia fell three sen to RM5.20.

Of the actives, Cypark weakened three sen to 35 sen, Reach Energy was flat at 5.5 sen, MN Holdings dipped one sen to 22 sen and Dagang Nexchange shaved half-a-sen to 78.5 sen.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index shed 20.29 points to 16,042.58, while the Plantation Index was up 46.67 points to 7,017.31, and the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.83 of-a-point stronger at 182.11.