KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 11): Bursa Malaysia opened higher but turned marginally lower thereafter, taking its cue from the mixed regional market performance amid an improved overnight performance on Wall Street, said a dealer. 

At 9.05am on Wednesday (Jan 11), the benchmark FBM KLCI had fallen slightly by 0.48 of a point to 1,484.65, from Tuesday's close at 1,485.13.

The market bellwether opened 1.91 points better at 1,487.04.    

However, on the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 175 to 113, while 244 counters were unchanged, 1,669 untraded, and 10 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 213.46 million units worth RM62.95 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said sentiment on the local bourse remained fragile as investors were sidelined, waiting for more solid catalysts.

“As such, we reckon the index to trend within a tight range of between 1,485 and 1,495 on Wednesday, as we notice the 1,500 level remains a strong psychological resistance level,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, he believes interest in telecommunications and media stocks may emerge, as the sector has underperformed in the broader market so far this year.

"Wall Street closed positively as bargain-hunting activities emerged on beaten-up tech stocks, as traders were betting that US inflation may have peaked," he pointed out. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 186 points, while the Nasdaq added 107 points, as the US 10-year yield edged higher to almost 3.62%.

Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) at RM8.79, Public Bank Bhd at RM4.30, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd at RM8.30, and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd at RM5.72 were all flat, while Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) was lower by five sen to RM9.48. 

As for the actives, Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) added five sen to 55.5 sen, Tanco Holdings Bhd inched up half a sen to 39 sen and L&P Global Bhd rose half a sen to 58.5 sen, Ancom Logistics Bhd gained one sen to 15 sen, while Berjaya Corp Bhd was unchanged at 35 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 7.08 points to 10,699.68, the FBMT 100 Index strengthened by 5.53 points to 10,401.15, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index widened by 12.51 points to 10,905.85.

The FBM 70 Index was higher by 45.33 points to 13,239.17, and the FBM ACE Index gained 19.02 points to 5,395.85.  

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index went up 1.43 points to 16,481.77, and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.17 of a point to 182.62. 

The Plantation index added 17.07 points to 6,941.47, and the Energy Index garnered 1.01 points to 797.07.