KUALA LUMPUR: 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 United States (US) and the effectiveness of the Federal Reserve's previous rate hikes, said a dealer.

At 9.05 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 1.99 points to 1,489.86 from yesterday's close of 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 today 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 per cent.

Back home, he anticipated the FBM KLCI index to trend in the 1,485-1,495 range today.

Among the heavyweights, Petronas Dagangan and Hong Leong Bank gained six sen each to RM22.80 and RM20.78, respectively, and Tenaga Nasional added four sen to RM9.44.

Meanwhile, Hong Leong Financial Group and Telekom Malaysia were flat at RM18.86 and RM5.19 respectively, and Nestle shed 30 sen to RM137.20. 

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

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.