KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed sharply higher today as bargain hunters bought into major banks and certain index heavyweights, says analysts.
At 5 pm, the FBM KLCI added 18.72 points, or 1.17 per cent, to 1,615.40 from Friday's close of 1,596.68.
The benchmark index, which opened 0.74 of-a-point lower at 1,595.94, fluctuated between 1,595.35 and 1,617.41 throughout the trading session.
Tradeview Capital fund manager Neoh Jia Man said the FBM KLCI gained further ground in the afternoon trading session.
Notably, regional markets' performance was mixed, with Bursa Malaysia being the top performer of the day, he said.
"We believe weak economic data from the U.S. was the main reason. If the job openings and payroll data to be released this week further reinforce the view that the U.S. economy is stagnating, we could see additional fund inflows into Bursa Malaysia," he told Business Times.
On the broader market, gainers led decliners 666 to 545, with 467 counters unchanged, 674 untraded and 16 others suspended.
Turnover declined to 4.46 billion units worth RM3.94 billion from Fridays's 5.45 billion units worth RM6.84 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said nonetheless, buying in tech stocks remains strong, driven by continuous high demand in AI and related sectors, where Nvidia announced a new generation of AI chips for 2025 and a next-generation platform in development called Rubin for 2026 at a Computex conference in Taiwan.
"On the domestic front, we are cautiously optimistic given the improving investor sentiment, thanks to the return of foreign funds and strong daily market turnover of about 4.5 billion shares worth close to RM4 billion.
"We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,610-1,630 for the week, with immediate resistance at 1,615 and support at 1,600," said Thong.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said construction, property, building materials and utilities should benefit for the construction of the data center going forward.
Based on the latest corporate earnings, traders should focus on Natgate, Masteel and Mycron, it said in a note.