KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened the day on a firm footing, buoyed by the stellar performance of US stocks overnight, analysts said.
Wall Street ended steeply higher, predominantly from renewed interests on tech-related stocks namely Microsoft and Nvidia.
Sentiment was also fueled by the cooling inflation data that saw a declining bond yield.
At 9.10am, the FBM KLCI fell 0.69 of-a-point to 1,456.23 from yesterday's closing of 1,456.92.
The index opened 1.21 points higher at 1,458.13.
The market breadth was positive, with gainers leading decliners 206 to 120, while 271 counters were unchanged, 1,777 untraded and nine others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 207.85 million units valued at RM79.09 million.
Tradeview Capital fund manager Neoh Jia Man said the surge on the FBM KLCI was driven by a drop in treasury yields and optimism surrounding AI-related stocks.
"In our view, the local market is poised to remain robust throughout the day, benefiting from the positive sentiment stemming from potential funding support to Chinese developers.
"However, the ongoing earnings season could introduce downside risks over the next two weeks should there be major disappointments," he told Business Times.
Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI continued to slide yesterday as the index tested the 1,455 level due to selling activities across the board.
"Nonetheless, we are confident that earnings especially from the banks which are expected to remain solid for 2023 may entice buyers back thus anticipating the index to hover within the 1,455-1,465 range today," Thong added.