At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 7.90 points, or 0.45%, to 1,759.20.
The benchmark had opened 4.16 points higher at 1,755.46, compared with Monday’s close of 1,751.30.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers outnumbering losers 213 to 92, while 248 counters were unchanged. A total of 2,098 counters were untraded and 11 were suspended.
Market turnover stood at 96.23 million shares valued at RM53.78 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said positive sentiment from Wall Street was expected to spill over into the local market.
It noted that 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings hit a new 52-week high following the start of the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah cash distribution programme, which could also benefit laggards such as Mr DIY Group and Eco-Shop Marketing.
The brokerage added that it favoured a rebound in CBH Engineering Holding, supported by a strong data centre pipeline and an outstanding order book of RM530.5 million.
IPPFA director of investment strategy and country economist Sedek Jantan said gains were broad-based at the open, led by construction, telecommunications, consumer and industrial stocks, which advanced by around one per cent.
Asian markets also opened mostly higher, reinforcing the positive regional backdrop, he said.
“After five consecutive days of net foreign selling, foreign investors returned as net buyers last Friday and again yesterday, signalling a tentative improvement in external risk appetite,” he said.
“We see foreign interest remaining supportive, in line with a broader reallocation by global investors towards Asian markets.”
Among index heavyweights, Maybank rose six sen to RM12.12, CIMB gained seven sen to RM8.62, Tenaga Nasional added two sen to RM14.16, IHH Healthcare climbed one sen to RM8.95, and Public Bank advanced two sen to RM5.10.
On the most active list, MMAG Holdings, Velesto Energy and Borneo Oil each edged up half-a-sen to five sen, 31 sen and one sen respectively. Elridge Energy Holdings gained one sen to RM1.31, while Zetrix AI slipped half-a-sen to 80 sen.
Top gainers included Fraser & Neave Holdings, up 40 sen to RM33.40, Malaysian Pacific Industries, which rose 30 sen to RM31.88, United Plantations, up 28 sen to RM30.10, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, which gained 20 sen to RM19.86, and Petronas Gas, up 16 sen to RM18.66.
Leading decliners were Ajinomoto, down eight sen to RM13.62, Westports Holdings, which fell five sen to RM5.99, PGF Capital and Plenitude, both down four sen to RM1.81 and RM1.75 respectively, and Sarawak Plantation, which slipped three sen to RM3.42.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index rose 56.42 points to 12,672.64, the FBM Emas Index gained 55.70 points to 12,840.25, the FBM Mid 70 Index advanced 76.06 points to 17,566.45, the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 51.04 points to 12,285.76, and the FBM ACE Index added 15.46 points to 4,744.78.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index strengthened 93.32 points to 21,818.27, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.41 of-a-point to 176.42, the Plantation Index gained 34.61 points to 8,393.13, and the Energy Index rose 2.53 points to 742.14.