KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher in line with the sharp rebound on Wall Street overnight, on the back of the United States Federal Reserve’s move to support smaller rate hikes going forward, as well as the likelihood that Bank Negara would maintain the current interest rate until end-June, a dealer said. 

At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 10.71 points to 1,608.81 from 1,598.10 at Wednesday’s close.

The index opened 10.59 points higher at 1,608.69.

On the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 243 to 89, while 188 counters were unchanged, 1,720 untraded and 10 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 112.34 million units worth RM84.44 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the key index is likely to maintain its gains due to the surging crude oil prices, after a global agreement to release crude reserves failed to allay fears of supply disruptions.

Crude oil price jumped to above US$112 per barrel mark, while the crude palm oil price stood at above RM6,600 per tonne.

“We believe that selected energy, plantation and metal-related stocks should be on an uptrend in the near term amidst the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine," it said in a note today. 

It also said that technical indicators remained positive, with support set at the 1,580-1,570 level, while resistance is pegged around 1,615.  

Among the heavyweights, both Maybank and IHH Healthcare were four sen higher at RM8.98 and RM6.66, respectively, Public Bank added three sen to RM4.44, Petronas Chemicals advanced 16 sen to RM9.93 and Press Metal gained 10 sen to RM7.17.

Of the actives, DNex improved three sen to RM1.17, Tafi Industries rose 2.5 sen to 79.5 sen and Hibiscus Petroleum added one sen to RM1.23.

On the index board, FBM Emas Index was 74.81 points better at 11,447.28, FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 78.13 points to 12,218.70, FBM 70 climbed 93.99 points to 13,559.13, FBMT 100 Index bagged 74.71 points to 11,123.45, and FBM ACE ticked up 7.12 points to 5,761.01.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index firmed 2.25 points to 214.61, the Financial Services Index expanded 110.42 points to 16,463.99 and the Plantation Index improved 66.20 points to 8,676.24. — Bernama