KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened marginally higher on Monday trailing Wall Street's positive momentum following an artificial intelligence frenzy spearheaded by Nvidia.
At 9.15 am, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.08 per cent or 1.24 points to 1,620.64 versus Friday's close of 1,619.40. The key index opened 1.27 points higher at 1,620.67.
The broader market was positive with gainers leading losers 397 to 329 while 407 counters were unchanged. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI ended the week negatively at just above the 1,620 threshold, seemingly a strong support level as selling continues amid a weak regional performance. "Nonetheless, we believe some bargain hunting activities to take place today spurred by decent corporate earnings reported thus far."We noticed except for the planters, most sectors had reported an encouraging set of earnings for 1Q24. Therefore, we expect the index to hover between the 1,615-1,625 range today," he said in a note. On the global front, he noted Wall Street closed positively despite deteriorating expectations that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates soon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added four points while the Nasdaq surged by 185 points to end on a record high as the US 10-year yield eased to 4.467 per cent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index declined further as outlook on lower US interest rates wanes coupled with the absence of earnings surprises.