The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) ended the day at 1,438.12 points, up 1.42 points or 0.1% from Friday’s close of 1,436.70 points.
The benchmark index, which opened 2.12 points higher at 1,438.82, fluctuated between 1,431.65 and 1,441.03 throughout the trading session.
On the broader market, gainers beat decliners 546 to 365, while 393 counters were unchanged, and 1,004 not traded.
Total turnover expanded to 2.65 billion units worth RM1.43 billion from 2.46 billion units worth RM1.47 billion on Friday.
Key regional markets also continued to trend higher following positive cues on Wall Street, including the upbeat performance of the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite last Friday.
Rakuten Trade vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI was supported by improved investor sentiment amid the strength of regional currencies against the US dollar.
“As for the local bourse, we are cautiously optimistic about the performance of the FBM KLCI in the near term amid the improvement in regional sentiment while the valuation of local equities remains attractive compared with its regional peers,” Thong told Bernama.
“Nonetheless, investors should be wary as both regional and global volatility remains high,” he said.
The online equity brokerage anticipates the FBM KLCI to move wider within the 1,430-1,460 range for the remainder of the week, with immediate support at 1,430 and resistance at 1,490.
The FBM KLCI has slipped 8.5% so far in June, prompting Kenanga Research to advise investors to exercise prudence going forward.
Statistically, it noted that the key market barometer had ended in the red in July in six of the last 10 years, including last year.
For this week, investors may look forward to a mixture of macro data releases and corporate news flows.
On Thursday, the banking statistics for May will be released while the outcome of the Opec meeting will be known, and on Friday, Malaysia’s manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) report will be out.
Among Bursa Malaysia heavyweights, Hong Leong Bank jumped 32 sen to RM20.48, Sime Darby Plantation improved eight sen to RM4.30, MISC was 12 sen higher at RM7.06, IHH was six sen better at RM6.48 and MRDIY added three sen to RM2.
Maybank declined two sen to RM8.58, Petronas Chemicals lost five sen to RM9.20 but Public Bank added one sen to RM4.44.
Of the active counters, Green Packet was flat at 6.5 sen, Reach Energy fell half-a-sen to eight sen, Dagang NeXchange rose three sen to 79.5 sen, Sapura Energy was flat at 4.5 sen, and Nylex bagged 5.5 sen to 29.5 sen.
Sector-wise, the financial services index rose 50.68 points to 16,015.13, the plantation index was 5.13 points better at 6,922.86, but the industrial products and services index eased 0.49 of-a-point to 182.88.