KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia had opened easier today after four consecutive days of gains due to profit taking, despite the Wall Street's overnight rally which saw the Dow Jones closing at a record high.

This was following the news that the United States' (US) consumer prices had increased by 0.4 per cent in February, easing inflation concerns, dealers said.

At 9.07 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 5.64 points to 1,634.19 from Wednesday's close of 1,639.83.

The key index opened 3.10 points easier at 1636.73.

However, on the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 343 to 199, while 347 counters were unchanged, 1,314 untraded and 17 others suspended.

Total volume stood at 624.48 million units worth RM279.89 million.

In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said it expects buying interest to pick up and that the FBM KLCI might extend its gains today, taking its cue from Wall Street's rally.

It said as the daily COVID-19 tally continues to dip below the 2,000 mark, market players are likely to favour the reopening of business activities moving forward, with domestic travel kick-starting the tourism economy.

However, it said the technology sector may undergo a mild consolidation phase as the Nasdaq took another round of breather.

"Meanwhile, we believe the recovery-theme sectors such as consumer, gaming, construction, transportation as well as expressway stocks may surface as winners over the near term.

"Additionally, the plantation and oil and gas sectors may continue their upward trend, moving in tandem with the firmer CPO and Brent oil prices," it added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank gained three sen to RM8.57, Petronas Chemicals added one sen to RM8.18 and Tenaga rose eight sen to RM10.80, while Public Bank and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM4.32 and RM5.29, respectively.

Of the actives, Vizione Holdings increased 3.5 sen to 34 sen, its warrant bagged three sen to 14 sen and Widad climbed 3.5 sen to 52 sen, while KTG eased one sen to 20.5 sen and Dagang Nexchange shed 2.5 sen to 86.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 18.40 points to 11,934.04, the FBMT 100 Index declined 22.32 points to 11,628.28 and the FBM ACE slipped 10.61 points to 10,341.81.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index was 9.77 points better at 13,190.80, while the FBM 70 improved 10.20 points to 15,578.35.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index dropped 89.56 points to 15,745.98, the Plantation Index erased 6.01 points to 7,176.12, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.10 of-a-point to 190.20.

-- BERNAMA