KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 ― Bursa Malaysia opened higher today, taking the cue from the overnight Nasdaq performance as investors mulled the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) decision to begin tapering asset purchases later this month, dealers said.

At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.65 points to 1,537.98 from Wednesday's close of 1,531.33. It opened 4.44 points higher at 1,543.15.

The market was closed yesterday for Deepavali.

On the broader market, gainers led losers 207 to 154, while 293 counters were unchanged, 1,637 untraded and 31 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 187.68 million units worth RM91.88 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, in a research note, said the Fed move to begin tapering this month is within consensus expectations and overall market conditions in the US are still positive, especially on Nasdaq.

"Hence, we expect the positive sentiment to spill over to tech stocks on the local front. However, the broader market sentiment could have limited upside potential as investors are still digesting the impact from the prosperity tax and stamp duty changes moving into 2022,” it said.

On the commodity markets, crude palm oil (CPO) managed to charge above RM5,000 a tonne, while Brent oil has traded in a volatile manner, hitting the intra-day high of US$84.48 and declined near the US$81 at the time of writing as Saudi Arabia's oil output was reported to surpass 10 million barrels per day following the easing of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For sector focus, the brokerage house said investors may still consider recovery theme sectors such as tourism and aviation to participate, while short-term theme may focus on the upcoming November reporting season.

"Also, technology stocks should be decent to be traded on the short- to mid-term following the positive sentiment from Nasdaq,” it added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added three sen to RM8.03, Public Bank improved one sen  to RM4.05, Petronas Chemicals gained two sen to RM8.33, Tenaga rose four sen to RM9.62 while IHH Healthcare was flat at RM6.52.

Of the actives, NWP Holdings perked 2.5 sen to 32.5 sen, Scope Industries and Dagang Nexchange bagged one sen each to 39.5 sen and 79.5 sen respectively while Sapura Energy and Tanco were flat at 10 sen and 27 sen respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 52.12 points to 11,410.63, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 41.45 points to 11,026.18, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 66.99 points to 12,466.64, and the FBM ACE added 21.61 points to 7,095.57, while the FBM 70 firmed 32.51 points to 15,123.72.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.48 of-a-point to 203.53, the Plantation Index expanded 32.82 points to 6,821.32 and the Financial Services Index was 48.21 points higher at 15,235.30. ― Bernama