KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Wednesday as investors engaged in bargain hunting following the extended market closure last week, while positive sentiment from Wall Street’s overnight gains also supported buying interest.

At 9.33am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 5.34 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 1,688.41 from Friday’s close of 1,683.07.

The index opened 4.06 points higher at 1,687.13.

Bursa Malaysia was closed on Monday (June 1) and Tuesday (June 2) in observance of the birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the replacement holiday for Wesak Day, respectively.

Market breadth was negative, as losers outnumbered gainers 377 to 350, while 412 counters were unchanged, 1,464 were untraded, and 13 were suspended.

Turnover stood at 720.10 million shares worth RM715.34 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street closed higher despite the ongoing uncertainty regarding the United States (US)-Iran negotiations.

Meanwhile, he said crude oil price edged higher to US$96 (RM382) per barrel, while the US 10-year yield was flat at 4.453 per cent.

“As for the local bourse, we believe bargain-hunting activities will emerge sooner rather than later following a long break last week.

“As such, we expect the index to hover within the 1,680-1,700 range today,” he said.

Among heavyweight stocks, Public Bank rose three sen to RM4.74, while Maybank fell two sen to RM10.62, Tenaga Nasional lost six sen to RM14.22, CIMB eased one sen to RM7.47, and IHH decreased three sen to RM8.98.

Among active stocks, newly listed on the ACE market listing, Bus Cap gained 9.5 sen to 32.5 sen, Nationgate Holdings advanced five sen to 93 sen and GIIB Holdings added 1.5 sen to 41.5 sen. Industronics inched down half a sen to two sen, while Zetrix was flat at 80.5 sen.

 Top gainers included Nestle, which rose RM2.06 to RM93.06, Petronas Dagangan jumped 80 sen to RM18.54, Malaysian Pacific Industries added 70 sen to RM49.76, Ajinomoto improved 34 sen to RM14.20, and Malayan Cement increased 27 sen to RM6.81.

Top losers included KL Kepong, which slipped 82 sen to RM19.50, Hong Leong Industries went down 50 sen to RM18.50, Batu Kawan lost 46 sen to RM19.50, United Plantation reduced 30 sen to RM30.78 and Bursa Malaysia dropped 27 sen to RM8.53.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 18.08 points to 12,598.20, while the FBM Top 100 Index increased 21.67 points to 12,439.21, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 20.69 points to 12,624.77. The FBM Mid 70 Index declined 42.86 points to 18,441.46, and the FBM ACE Index edged down 9.25 points to 4,754.56.

By sector, the Financial Services Index rose 31.20 points to 19,555.49, while the Industrial Products and Services Index added 2.12 points to 199.94, the Energy Index gained 3.20 points to 781.95, but the Plantation Index dropped 66.09 points to 8,433.45. — Bernama