KUALA LUMPUR:Technology and banking counters continued to drive Bursa Malaysia higher in early trade, with its key index, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) opening 1.31 point higher at 1,638.0.

At 9.10 am, the index rose further by 1.64 point to 1,638.33 from 1,636.69 at yesterday's close.

On the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 301 to 243, while 278 counters were unchanged, 1,277 untraded and 24 others suspended.

Total volume stood at 422,02 million units worth RM275.43 billion

In a note today, Rakuten Trade believes that yesterday's strong buying in banks stocks could signify that foreign funds may be trickling back into the local bourse, with an inflow of around RM750 million since Jan 7.

Overall, the FBM KLCI may trade at 1,630 - 1,640 levels throughout the day, it said.

Meanwhile, Malacca Securities in a note said investors had shrugged off concerns on the first day of the Movement Control Order (MCO) 2.0 since the essential economic sectors remain open.

"The key index may contract a little following yesterday's rallies, but we expect the downside to be limited," it said, noting that the lower liners saw some rebounds as the indices made significant headway yesterday following the recent consolidation.

Additionally, traders are also expected to also focus on stocks with earnings certainty ahead of the February reporting season, it said.

"Sectors that may be under the limelight include furniture, technology and gloves. Meanwhile, we believe that the financial services counters may trade higher as the momentum had picked up during the final hour of trading yesterday," it said.

Banking counters continued to dominate the heavyweight list, with Public Bank increasing 42 sen to RM21.82, while Maybank and CIMB gained three sen to RM8.45 and RM4.10, respectively.

However, the healthcare index-linked counters continued to remain on a downtrend, with Hartalega losing 38 sen to RM12.62, while Top Glove was 15 sen lower at RM6.48, Supermax fell 19 sen to RM6.92 and IHH declined three sen to RM5.42.

Of the actives, Iris improved two sen to 40.5 sen, AE Multiholdings was one sen higher at 13.5 sen and Kanger International added half-a-sen to 15.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 11.73 points to 11,760.49, the FBMT 100 Index expanded 12.18 points to 11,50243, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 29.79 points to 13,225.19.

The FBM 70 rose 18.26 points to 14,839.34 and the FBM ACE was 22.68 points better at 10,714.71.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index climbed 123.89 points to 15,189.63, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.78-of-point to 176.32 and the Plantation Index perked 7.84 points to 7,490,96.

-- BERNAMA