KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 12): Bursa Malaysia opened higher for the second consecutive day, tracking gains on Wall Street, as traders became more confident about inflation cooling down in the US and the effectiveness of the US Federal Reserve’s previous rate hikes, said a dealer.

At 9.05am on Thursday (Jan 12), the benchmark FBM KLCI had increased by 1.99 points to 1,489.86, from Wednesday's close at 1,487.87.

The market bellwether opened 0.70 point firmer at 1,488.57.    

In the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 164 to 130, while 274 counters were unchanged, 1,634 untraded, and 12 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 308.13 million units worth RM171.92 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng reckoned that selective stock accumulation would persist on Thursday, with interest focused on energy stocks amid the rebound in crude oil prices.

"Brent crude surged to almost US$83 per barrel on the reopening of China, coupled with the impending Lunar New Year travelling," he told Bernama.

On Wall Street’s performance, he said the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by almost 270 points, while the Nasdaq was up by 190 points, as the 10-year US Treasury yield eased to 3.54%.

Back home, he anticipated the KLCI to trend in the 1,485-1,495 range on Thursday.

Among the heavyweights, Petronas Dagangan Bhd added six sen to RM22.80 a share and Hong Leong Bank Bhd gained six sen to RM20.78, while Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) inched up four sen to RM9.44.

Meanwhile, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd at RM18.86 and Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) at RM5.19 were flat, whereas Nestlé (Malaysia) Bhd shed 30 sen to RM137.20. 

As for the actives, NationGate Holdings Bhd surged 47 sen to 85 sen, Minetech Resources Bhd grew one sen to 6.5 sen, and Dolphin International Bhd slid 1.5 sen to one sen, while Progressive Impact Corp Bhd at 29 sen and Tanco Holdings Bhd at 38 sen were unchanged. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index expanded 14.94 points to 10,741.32, the FBMT 100 Index strengthened 14.83 points to 10,438.75, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 14.57 points to 10,931.66.

The FBM 70 Index gained 22.61 points to 13,291.92, and the FBM ACE Index improved 18.79 points to 5,428.55.  

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index earned 24.53 points to 16,590.00, and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.19 of a point to 183.49. 

The Plantation index ticked up 16.05 points to 6,950.73, and the Energy Index garnered 5.86 points to 819.76.