KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 ― Bursa Malaysia climbed higher in early trade today, driven by bargain hunting in blue-chip stocks ahead of a long Hari Raya holiday.

At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 1.59 points to 1,561.57 from yesterday's close of 1,559.98. The benchmark index opened 0.07 points lower at 1,559.91.

On the broader market, gainers led decliners 225 to 185 while 321 counters were unchanged, 1,612 untraded and nine others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 273.51 million units worth RM112.69 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said he believes the index might come under some pressure today as the local bourse will be closed for the next two days for Hari Raya.

“The FBM KLCI maintained its uptrend yesterday, closing near the 1,560 level, a year-to-date high. We expect the index to hover within the 1,555-1,565 range today,” he told Bernama.

Thong noted that Wall Street closed flat overnight amid a choppy session as traders remained sidelined ahead of the March US consumer price index (CPI) and jobs data to be released this Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

“As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial (DJI) Average lost 11 points while the Nasdaq added 5 points. The US 10-year yield ended at a five-month high of 4.422 per cent.

“In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was flat, with sentiment staying cautious ahead of key economic data set for this week,” he added.

Among the heavyweight counters, Public Bank added 1.0 sen to RM4.25, Petronas Chemical grew 5.0 sen to RM6.84 and Maybank was flat at RM9.69. CIMB Group dropped 2.0 sen to RM6.62 and Tenaga Nasional added 2 sen to RM11.46.

Among the actives, Ahmad Zaki Resources, Niche Capital and EVD Bhd gained 0.5 sen each to 26.5 sen, 16.0 sen and 15.0 sen, respectively, while TWL Holdings and Velesto Energy were flat at 3.0 sen and 27.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 9.91 points to 11,743.90, the FBMT 100 Index added 10.12 points to 11,380.90 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index topped up 9.92 points to 11,904.40.

The FBM 70 Index rose by 8.66 points to 16,376.90 while the FBM ACE Index advanced 5.56 points to 4,986.40.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index improved by 12.59 points to 17,317.50, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased by 0.41 points to 184.82 and the Energy Index crept up 0.27 points to 961.75.

The Plantation Index went down by 4.92 points to 7,476.13. ― Bernama