KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Monday due to the positive market breadth and renewed buying interest.
At 9.15 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.87 of-a-point to 1,464.30 from 1,463.43 at Thursday's close.
The key index opened 0.64 of-a-point firmer at 1,464.07.
The broader market was positive with advancers surpassing decliners 306 to 184, while 316 counters were unchanged, 1,518 untraded and 31 others suspended.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI maintained its impressive performance.
As market undertone continues to improve, Thong said the firm reckon the index to trend within the 1,460-1,475 today.
"Meanwhile, oil & gas counters may see some action today as crude oil prices are trending higher in view of the decline in inventory and cut in production with the Brent crude currently hovering near the US$89 per barrel," he told New Straits Times.
Malacca Securities Research said given that Wall Street traded higher for the first day of September, it is likely the buying interest may spillover towards stocks on the local front, especially the Technology sector.
The firm said it believes the softer-than-expected jobs data last week suggested that the Fed may hold on to the current interest rate environment and may provide upside potential towards the stock markets.
"We believe the overall local bourse may stay bullish with the launching of National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) and New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP) over the past few weeks. "Commodities wise, the Brent crude oil experienced a breakout above US$87 per barrel, while the crude palm oil (CPO) prices marked higher above RM4,000 per tonnes," it added.Ends