KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 ― Bursa Malaysia opened higher today in tandem with key regional markets, influenced by the strong Wall Street performance overnight.

At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 9.30 points or 0.67 per cent to 1,395.57 from yesterday's close of 1,386.27.

The key index opened 6.65 points higher at 1,392.92.

On the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 219 to 61, while 178 counters were unchanged, 1,892 untraded and seven others suspended.

Turnover stood at 107.87 million units worth RM47.63 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of Equity Research, Thong Pak Leng said the benchmark index is expected to maintain its uptrend, mirroring the solid gains over on Wall Street overnight.

“We believe the index would hover in the 1,380-1,400 range today and expect buying activities to return to banks and technology stocks today.

“We also expect the construction sector to be in focus as well, with the 15th general election date looming,” he told Bernama.

Regionally, Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.07 per cent to 27,062.24, Singapore's Straits Times Index grew 0.50 per cent to 3,030.94, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was firmer by 0.15 per cent to 16,612.90 and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index gained 0.24 per cent to 6,831.12.

Among the heavyweights, Public Bank added three sen to RM4.23, CIMB widened five sen to RM5.35, IHH Healthcare jumped 12 sen to RM5.98, Petronas Chemicals and TNB were flat at RM8.50 and RM8.19, respectively, while Maybank and Hong Leong Bank shed two sen each to RM8.50 and RM20.58, respectively.

Of the actives, Jade Marvel gained one sen to 26 sen, HLT Global edged up half-a-sen to 27 sen, Hiap Huat was flat at 16 sen, Careplus and Top Glove both inched down half-a-sen to 41 sen and 73.5 sen, respectively, while Supermax declined two sen to 88.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index strengthened 61.52 points to 9,925.58, the FBM 70 improved by 67.97 points to 11,900.51, the FBMT 100 Index increased 62.32 points to 9,676.15, the FBM Emas Shariah Index earned 73.94 points to 9,927.08, and the FBM ACE bagged 29.22 points to 4,710.99.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was 55.94 points higher at 15,971.84, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 0.37 of-a-point to 169.92, the Plantation Index perked 45.65 points to 6,451.11, and the Energy Index garnered 3.60 points to 668.64. ― Bernama