KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened marginally higher on Monday, with the FBM KLCI opening 0.97 higher at 1,451.07 versus 1,450.35 at the end of market trade on Friday's close.
At 9.23 am, the key index went up by 7.58 points to 1,457.93, with the broader market remaining positive, with gainers taking the lead by 308 over 187 losers, while 312 counters remained unchanged.
While FBM100 went up by 60.610 to 10,401.79, FBMEMAS rose by 60.960 to 10,713.89, FBMHIJRA was up by 68.740 to 11,792.64, and lastly, FBMACE also slid down by 3.550 to 5,317.78. Turnover was 591.871 million shares valued at RM220.371 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said FBM KLCI had ended marginally lower on Friday and is deemed healthy for the market due to the ongoing intermittent correction.
He added that July will be the first month in 2023 to witness a net inflow which is the commencement of foreign diversification.
This follows the continuous sequence of net foreign outflows from January to June this year.
"As such, we reckon the index is in good stead as we expect continuous accumulation of blue chips and the index to hover within the 1,445-1,455 range today," he said.
Meanwhile, Brent crude ended near US$85 per barrel or almost a 4-month high, as the supply side may be affected by the lower US drilling activities.
Globally, Thong said Wall Street closed broadly higher, which was attributed to upbeat sentiment due to the personal consumption expenditure index that came in within expectations, indicating that inflation has softened.
The DJI Average gained 176 points while the Nasdaq jumped by 266 points as the US 10-year yield eased below the 4 per cent mark to 3.957 per cent.
Over in Hong Kong, the HSI surged 277 points to almost 20,000 on the back of broad-based buying from mainland funds boosted by China's pledge to support the tech sector and revive the broader economy.
