KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened higher today as traders were mostly sidelined, waiting for the policy decision from the US Federal Reserve.
At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 2.08 points to 1,437.41 from Wednesday's closing of 1,435.33.
The benchmark index opened 0.61 of a point higher at 1,435.94.
On the broader market, gainers edged past losers 141 to 101 while 215 counters were unchanged, 1,893 untraded and 14 suspended.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI closed broadly lower, attributed to selling activities during the late session.
Nonetheless, Thong said the firm believes the local bourse will stage a rebound today taking cue from the Wall Street and no interest rate hike from the Fed.
"Thus, we expect the index to hover within the 1,440-1,450 range as bargain hunting should emerge on the banks, telco and utilities ahead of the impending results season," he told Business Times today.
Among the gainers, Petronas Dagangan Bhd rose 20 sen to RM23, Petronas Gas Bhd added 16 sen to RM17.24, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd gained 12 sen to RM25.54 and Lysaght Galvanized Steel Bhd climbed 11 sen to RM2.39.
Of the active, SMTrack Bhd is the most active counter with 33.33 per cent jumped in share, or one sen to four sen with 67.99 million shares traded.