Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng noted that the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 57 points last Friday while the Nasdaq added 52 points with the US 10-year Treasury yield dipping marginally to 3.915%, helping to lift regional sentiment.

Over in Hong Kong, he said the Hang Seng Index had jumped 390 points to end nearly at the 16,800 mark last Friday, predominantly due to the softer interest rate scenario signalled by the US Federal Reserve (Fed).

“Additionally, sentiment was further boosted by China’s latest measures to lower ratios on home repayments and extending deadlines for mortgages,” he added.

Back home, Thong reckons there is staying power for the local bourse as the diversification of funds may prevail as investors look for value, especially amongst emerging markets, “thus expect the index to climb further and hover within the 1,460-1,470 range today.”

At 10.30am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM) KLCI edged up almost half a point to 1,462.94.

The barometer index opened 0.89 points lower at 1,461.56 from Friday’s closing.