KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 — Bursa Malaysia opened marginally lower but turned positive thereafter in a mixed and cautious trading mode today, taking the cue from overnight weaker performance on Wall Street.

The United States’ (US) benchmark S&P 500 closed 1.3 per cent lower, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.3 per cent, its worst day since mid-March, dealers said.

At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.56 of-a-point better at 1,597.35 from Tuesday’s close of 1,596.79.

The barometer index opened 0.67 of-a-point easier at 1,596.12.

On the broader market, losers led gainers 217 to 114, while 287 counters were unchanged, 1,618 untraded and 13 others suspended.

Total turnover stood at 200.07 million worth RM87.97 million.

In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the FBM KLCI saw another session of pullback amid further profit-taking in banking and telecommunication heavyweights yesterday.

"Meanwhile, global sentiment may stay fragile amid concerns over more hawkish stance of the US Federal Reserve’s action to tame inflation. Also, we expect the unresolved tensions between Russia and  Ukraine could limit the upside potential over the near term.

"Nevertheless, we expect the reopening of travel borders may continue to benefit the economy, while investors could position themselves ahead of the 15th general election (GE15) although the timeline is still uncertain,” it said.

On the commodities market, it noted that both crude oil and crude palm oil (CPO) prices remained elevated despite a mild pullback overnight.

For sectors in focus, the brokerage firm said traders might continue to focus on oil and gas, as well as plantation amid the elevated Brent oil and CPO prices.

"Meanwhile, recovery-themed sectors such as consumer, banking, transportation and logistics, and aviation may benefit following the reopening of borders. Besides, trading interest may build up on the construction and building material sector ahead of GE15,” it added.

Among heavyweights, Maybank added one sen to RM8.87, IHH Healhcare gained one sen to RM6.28, CIMB Group bagged two sen RM5.29, while Public Bank and Petronas Chemicals were flat at RM4.70 and RM9.85, respectively.

Of the actives, Dagang Nexchange shed two sen to RM1.09, Sapura Energy eased half-a-sen to four sen, Techna-X edged up half-a-sen to nine sen, Pappajack increased one sen to 50.5 sen, while SMTrack was flat at eight sen.

On the index board, FBMT 100 Index slid 10.39 points to 11,138.67, FBM Emas Index trimmed 11.73   points to 11,481.89, and FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 25.11 points to 12,114.87.

FBM 70 fell 70.88 points to 13,956.14 and FBM ACE shed 13.72 points to 5,850.80.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.14 of-a-point to 209.94, the Financial Services Index gained 7.07 points to 16,727.03, while the Plantation Index inched down 1.09 points to 8,172.18. — Bernama