KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 ― Bursa Malaysia opened higher today, ahead of the tabling of Budget 2023 tomorrow, an analyst said.

At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced by 3.34 points to 1,423.89 from yesterday's close of 1,420.55.

The benchmark index opened 4.2 points better at 1,424.75.

On the broader market, gainers led decliners 127 to 80, while 197 counters were unchanged, 1,943 untraded and seven others suspended.

Turnover stood at 177.53 million units worth RM44.06 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of Equity Research, Thong Pak Leng said buyers had returned as the FBM KLCI closed above the 1,420 mark yesterday.

“In addition to the tabling of the country’s Budget 2023 tomorrow, sentiment will also be affected by the 15th General Election (GE15) noises,” he told Bernama, adding that he expects the index to possibly hover in the 1,415-1,430 range.

He also expects some buying interest to emerge in the oil and gas stocks today as the Brent crude moved higher to above US$93 per barrel after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (Opec) move to cut production by two million barrels per day.

Meanwhile, Bursa heavyweights Maybank and CIMB gained one sen each to RM8.71 and RM5.27, respectively, Public Bank added three sen to RM4.28 and Petronas Chemicals improved five sen to RM8.70, while IHH Healthcare was flat at RM5.85.

Of the actives, MMAG Holdings rose by one sen to 3.5 sen, Ace Market debutant Cosmos Technology International gained 20.5 sen to 55.5 sen, Hibiscus Petroleum edged up 3.5 sen to 98 sen, while MQ Technology and Dagang NeXchange were flat at three sen and 78.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index added 20.49 points to 10,139.94, the FBM 70 garnered 13.83 points to 12,249.45, the FBMT 100 Index improved 20.34 points to 9,893.03 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index earned 12.53 points to 10,182.44.

The FBM ACE, however, declined 5.09 points to 4,729.18.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index added 10.20 points to 704.30, the Financial Services Index was 40.23 points better at 16,166.33, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.71 of-a-point to 174.66, while the Plantation Index fell 16 points to 6,579.06. ― Bernama