At 9.05am the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was up 3.77 points at 1,519.76 from Thursday's close of 1,515.99.
The index opened 2.26 points at 1,518.25.
It opened on positive territory following buying interest in selected heavyweights led by IHH Healthcare amid concerns over an increase in Covid-19 cases in the country.
On the broader market, investors saw gainers outpacing losers by 142 to 105, while 205 counters were unchanged, 1,816 untraded and 73 suspended.
Total turnover at 788.48 million units worth RM40.11 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president Thong Pak Leng said all three Wall Street stock indices ended weak with early gains erased ahead of the closing session and investors took the opportunity to lock in gains on the uptrend.
He added that market sentiment remained in turmoil and they expected uncertainty to remain during the rate hike by the Federal Reserve besides also stating that the index on the local bourse would be in the range of 1,505-1,520 due to lack of strong catalysts.
Meanwhile, Covid-19 infection cases continued to rise for 3 consecutive days with more than 5,000 cases prompting buying support for healthcare shares with IHH Healthcare up 1.72% or 11 sen at RM6.49.
Heavyweights saw Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) remain at RM8.30, Public Bank Bhd added 1 sen at RM4.22, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (Petchem) rose 6 sen at RM8.96 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd jumped 2 sen at RM5.27.
Active stocks saw FBM ACE melayu 6.97 points at 5,991.40, FBM 70 macu 52.25 points at 13,400.48, FBM Emas added 29.60 points at 10,901.71, FBMT 100 strong 29.70 points at 10,612.70 and FBM Emas Shariah reached 32.13 points at 11,578.79.
The Financial Services Index jumped 38.14 points at 15,802.26, the Products and Services Industry index reached 0.70 points at 200.25 and the Malay Plantation index 7.99 points at 6,624.19.
