Bursa Malaysia opened higher in an environment of uncertainty as traders examined the US (US) consumer confidence report and the impact of US President Donald Trump's policies on the US economy.
At 3.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 12.99 points to 1,580.94 from 1,568.03 at Tuesday's close.
The benchmark index opened 1.76 points lower at 1,566.27.
In the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers by 445 to 404, with 445 counters unchanged, 1,084 untraded and 36 others suspended.
Total trading volume amounted to 1.64 billion units worth RM1.03 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd Vice President of Equity Research, Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street continued to face challenges as traders worried about deteriorating consumer confidence following the impact of Trump's policies on the US economy.
He said overall sentiment was also affected by the US's latest move to restrict Chinese investment in technology, infrastructure and several of its critical industries.
Locally, the FBM KLCI fell below 1,570 as foreign selling continued, in line with a broad regional decline.
Among heavyweights, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional added two sen to RM10.48 and RM13.42 respectively, Public Bank rose one sen to RM4.47, however IHH Healthcare declined two sen to RM7.29 while CIMB was unchanged at RM8.23.
Among actives, Ingenieur Gudang fell 0.5 sen to four sen, SFP Tech fell 4.5 sen to 30 sen, while Richtech jumped one sen to 29.5 sen.
