KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia saw a higher opening today as investors engaged in bargain hunting for heavyweight stocks after the local bourse fell below the key 1,600 level last Friday.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 4.13 points to 1,600.81 from last Friday's close of 1,596.68.
The benchmark index opened 0.74 of a point lower at 1,595.94.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 343 to 271, with 349 counters unchanged.
Turnover stood at 415.88 million shares worth RM252.56 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the local bourse was closed yesterday, and he believes that the FBM KLCI will play some catch-up today after it ended below the crucial 1,600 level last Friday.
He expects bargain hunting activities to emerge thus anticipate the index to hover between the 1,600-1,615 range today.
"Expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) may lower interest rates this Thursday will further improve trading sentiment regionally," he told Business Times.
Meanwhile, Thong said Wall Street closed on a mixed note following a weak US manufacturing and construction data as well as falling crude oil prices.
He noted that the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 115 points while the Nasdaq gained 94 points as Nvidia boosted tech sentiment from its next generation AI chip platform.
Thong also highlighted that the US 10-year yield eased to 4.392 per cent.
Over in Hong Kong, Thong said the Hang Seng Index (HSI) added 323 points following a tame US inflation report last Friday and that China's factory activity grew at its fastest pace over the last two months.