KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 ― Bursa Malaysia opened higher today on renewed buying interest after undergoing selling pressure on Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street, which closed higher, ignoring the imminent rate hike as traders bought up banks on solid earnings.

At 9.10am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 8.40 points to 1,589.54 from Monday’s close of 1,581.14.

The barometer index opened 4.68 points firmer at 1,585.82.

On the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 284 to 135, while 278 counters were unchanged, 1,574 untraded and 26 others suspended.

Total turnover stood at 262.23 million worth RM144.03 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng reckons some bargain-hunting activities to emerge in view of a more robust regional performance.

Hence, he expects the index to hover within the 1,575-1,590 range today.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed its global economic forecast, resulting in lower crude prices with Brent crude down to around US$107 per barrel.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added four sen to RM8.79, Petronas Chemicals increased two sen to RM10.42, IHH Healthcare gained seven sen to RM6.47, Public Bank was flat at RM4.63, while Press Metal lost five sen to RM6.49.

Of the actives, Cengild increased two sen to 48.5 sen, South Malaysia bagged one sen to 33.5 sen, OCR grew 1.5 sen to 13.5 sen, Vizione improved half-a-sen to 10 sen, and Pappajack was flat at 54 sen.

On the index board, FBMT 100 Index soared 62.02 points to 11,067.14, FBM Emas Index was 60.72 points firmer at 11,417.64, FBM Emas Shariah Index added 84.35 points to 12,098.54, FBM 70 perked 91.70 points to 13,797.13, and FBM ACE advanced 40.17 points to 5,759.65.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 0.14 of-a-point to 214.98, the Financial Services Index inched up 44.59 points to 16,535.03, and the Plantation Index bagged 180.67 points to 8,544.03. ― Bernama