KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher today, taking a cue from Wall Street’s better performance spearheaded by big technology names, said an analyst.

At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.91 points to 1,381.59 from 1,376.68 at Friday’s close.

The key index opened 2.71 points better at 1,379.39.

The broader market was positive, with advancers surpassing decliners 177 to 114, while 252 counters were unchanged, 1,715 untraded and 40 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 228.81 million units worth RM87.32 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said sentiment has turned cautious as traders expect heightened volatility.

He said the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 285 points while the Nasdaq jumped by 196 points despite the US 10-year yield ending above the 3.8 per cent mark at 3.841 per cent.

Thong said Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed marginally lower as economic activities remained lacklustre as Chinese manufacturing contracted while loan demand fell in the second quarter.

"The FBM KLCI closed broadly lower on Friday, attributed to the selling on financials.

"Bank Negara Malaysia Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is set to meet this Wednesday and Thursday.

"Though we maintain that the overnight policy rate (OPR) will not be adjusted this week, sentiment is expected to stay fragile. We anticipate the index to hover within the 1,370-1,380 range today,” he told Bernama.

Thong expected technology stocks to see some buying interest today, taking a cue from Wall Street.

Among the heavyweight stocks, Maybank and Public Bank added four sen each to RM8.67 and RM3.89, CIMB and IHH Healthcare gained two sen each to RM5.08 and RM5.91, respectively, while Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM9.05.

Of the actives, BTM Resources edged up one sen to 10 sen, Tanco and Jade Marvel increased half-a-sen each to 58 sen and 21.5 sen, Cypark Resources fell three sen to 72 sen, and PT Resources slid one sen to 53 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index put on 31.73 points to 10,173.07, the FBMT 100 Index bagged 31.29 points to 9,875.29, the FBM ACE Index pushed up 19.85 points to 5,087.87, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 20.37 points to 10,435.24, and the FBM 70 Index garnered 26.27 points to 13,410.85.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index recovered 62.52 points to 15,395.39, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.34 points higher at 157.26, and the Energy Index perked 2.02 points to 776.11.

However, the Plantation Index slid 3.18 points to 6,695.47. — Bernama