KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 8 ― Bursa Malaysia opened higher, tracking the positive Wall Street performance overnight, said an analyst.

At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.50 points to 1,517.61 from yesterday’s close of 1,513.11.

The barometer index opened 0.08 of-a-point higher at 1,513.19.

On the broader market, gainers led losers 259 to 163, while 256 counters were unchanged, 1,610 untraded and 10 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 298.08 million units worth RM135.37 million.

In a note today, Malacca Securities expects trading activities to slow down in light of the festive Chinese New Year mood, adding that the FBM KLCI may consolidate further along the 1,510-1520 zone.

“Traders may focus on the technology sector on the back of solid close in the United States.

“Meanwhile, consumer, telco, REITs and utilities sectors may perform positively given their defensive characteristics, and investors may look into solid dividend yields as part of their consideration in these sectors,” it added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank and TNB gained two sen each to RM9.31 and RM10.84, respectively, Public Bank added one sen to RM4.40, CIMB advanced four sen to RM6.24, IHH Healthcare was flat at RM6.14 and Hong Leong Bank shed eight sen to RM19.12.

As for the actives, Reneuco and Widada both inched up half-a-sen to 5.5 sen and 11.5 sen, respectively, Privasia rose 1.5 sen to 12 sen, TWL was flat at four sen, and Jiankun eased half-a-sen to 17.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 31.78 points higher at 11,255.76, the FBMT 100 Index increased 30.96 points to 10,923.16, the FBM 70 Index appreciated 37.02 points to 15,154.85, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 25.87 points to 11,265.98 and the FBM ACE Index went up 11.45 points to 4,733.05.

Sector-wise, the Property Index rose 1.79 points to 901.21, the Plantation Index improved 14.66 points to 7,181.94, and the Energy Index added 4.02 points to 876.98.

The Financial Services Index jumped 39.25 points to 16,987.32, and the Industrial Products and Services Index gained 0.41 of-a-point to 172.15. ― Bernama