KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed on a stronger footing despite high expectations for profit-taking ahead of state elections.
At 5 pm, the FBM KLCI improved by 9.08 points to 1,459.43 from 1,450.35 at Friday's close.
The market bellwether opened 0.72 of a point higher at 1,451.07 and hit its intraday high at 1,464.70.
The broader market was also positive, with gainers beating losers 545 to 405, while 452 counters were unchanged, 902 untraded and 53 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 3.29 billion units worth RM2.49 billion.
Tradeview Capital fund manager Neoh Jia Man attributes this to the strong inflows from foreign investors as the market now thinks that the rate hike cycle by the US Federal Reserve is coming to an end.
"Firm crude palm oil prices also attracted interest in the plantation counters, and this further supported the FBM KLCI index today," he told the New Straits Times.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the strong FBM KLCI performance was in tandem with better performance across the region.
In China, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) increased to 49.3 in July, improving from 49.0 in June and the market's estimate of 49.2.
Over to Japan, investors still assess the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision to lift the cap on bond yields and the possible adjustment to its ultra-easy monetary policies.
"On the domestic front, we are optimistic about the mid-term outlook of the market given the improvement in the local market sentiment and foreign support, but investors shall stay alert on the increasing market volatility and external uncertainties," said Pak Leng.
He said that based on the current analysis, it is expected that the FBM KLCI will hover slightly higher, oscillating between 1,460 and 1,475 for the entire week.
"Having broken the 1,460 resistance, we shall see the next resistance level at 1,490, while support at 1,440," he added.