KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — Bursa Malaysia opened easier but rebounded thereafter today, tracking the better performance on Wall Street last week, on positive sentiment brought about by the strong manufacturing data around the world and a drop in bond yields.

At 9.08am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 2.22 points to 1,585.35 from last Friday’s close of 1,582.64.

The index opened 0.46 points easier at 1,586.51.

On the broader market, gainers led losers 349 to 150, while 345 counters were unchanged, 1,287 untraded and eight others suspended.

Total volume stood at 492.45 million shares worth RM180.01 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd expects the local bourse to remain on a cautious tone today after the FBM KLCI finished the week on a softer note following a sharp sell down last Wednesday.

"However, we opined that investors are likely to remain optimistic on the technology stocks, given the positive close last week on Wall Street.

"As some of the global markets are still off for public holiday, we expect the trading activities may tone down for the day and the FBM KLCI should hover below the 1,600 psychological level for the time being,” it said.

For sector in focus, the research house said technology stocks are likely to be under the limelight today while the laggard counters in the property and construction sectors may gain traction as they are perceived to be recovering with the broader market, it added.

Of the heavyweights, Maybank gained three sen to RM8.28, Petronas Chemical rose seven sen to RM8.07 and IHH Healthcare was two sen higher at RM5.31.

Public Bank and Tenaga were flat at RM4.24 and RM10.26, respectively.

Among the active counters, Parkson and Barakah Offshore added one sen each at 26 sen and 13 sen, respectively, while Fintec Global, Nexgram and Berjaya improved half-a-sen each at six sen, 5.5 sen and 45.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was up 28.26 points to 11,771.36, the FBM 70 rose 73.29 points to 15,802.61, the FBMT 100 increased 25.78 points to 11,419.14, the FBM Emas Shariah advanced 43.53 points to 13,049.38, and the FBM ACE surged 75.79 points to 9,864.91.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index went up 3.1 points to 7,048.64, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.57 of-a-point to 194.59, while the Financial Services Index eased 0.30 of-a-point to 15,276.26. — Bernama