KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 ― Bursa Malaysia extended yesterday’s gains to open higher today taking the cue from the better performance on Wall Street overnight, said a trader.

At 9.17am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.76 points to 1,458.20 from 1,454.44 at yesterday's close.

The key index opened 1.79 points firmer at 1,456.23.

The broader market was positive with advancers surpassing decliners 252 to 209, while 285 counters were unchanged, 1,632 untraded and 70 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 539.08 million units worth RM260.76 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the FBM KLCI is likely to experience stronger trading activity accompanied by positive catalysts emerging from the domestic scene and higher trading value and volume overall.

"Also, with the positive performance on Wall Street overnight, we think the buying interest may spillover to the stocks on the local front, specifically within the technology sector,” it said.

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng told Bernama that Wall Street overnight closed broadly higher as sentiment was boosted by the latest decline in consumer sentiment and job opening in July illustrating that the United States economy may be cooling down.

"Yesterday, the FBM KLCI surged past the 1,450 mark underpinned by solid buying support from foreign funds across the board.

"Though we believe the same can be expected today, we reckon buying may be muted somewhat as the local bourse will be closed in celebration of Merdeka Day tomorrow.

"Therefore, we expect the index to hover at the 1,450-1,460 range with interests focusing on the telcos in view that the equity holdings in Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) will be finalised today,” he added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added four sen to RM9.13, Public Bank and CIMB improved five sen each to RM4.19 and RM5.68, Petronas Chemicals decreased two sen to RM7.17, while Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM9.92.

Of the actives, Capital A increased 6.5 sen to RM1.02, Pesona Metro inched up half-a-sen to 19.5 sen, Ekovest reduced three sen to 47 sen, Velesto Energy edged down one sen to 23.5 sen while Iskandar Waterfront City was flat at 76 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index went up 25.26 points to 10,773.07, the FBMT 100 Index added 26.14 points to 10,448.67, the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 1.49 points to 10,952.47 and the FBM 70 Index was 32.43 points higher at 14,298.54, while the FBM ACE Index gave up 16.48 points to 5,239.99.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index added 3.35 points to 835.66, the Industrial Products and Services Index lost 0.23 of-a-point to 172.55, the Plantation Index slid 9.81 points to 6,931.69 and the Financial Services Index jumped 104.50 points to 16,433.23. ― Bernama