KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ends morning session in positive territory with continued buying support.
At lunch break, the FBM KLCI rose 0.27 per cent or 4.39 points to 1,611.71 from last Friday's close of 1,607.32.
The FBM KLCI opened 2.07 points higher at 1,609.39 and fluctuated between 1,609.39 and 1,615.09 throughout the morning session.
However, decliners surpassed gainers 639 to 460, while 472 counters were unchanged, 829 untraded, and six others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 3.58 billion units worth RM2.06 billion.
In the US, the overall positive sentiment was bolstered by large companies such as Apple and Microsoft.
The market showed particular interest in the artificial intelligence (AI) theme in anticipation of upcoming economic data, including retail sales on Tuesday and flash manufacturing and services Purchasing Managers' Index on Friday, along with speeches from Federal Reserve officials.
"Hence, given the positive sentiment in the US stock markets, we anticipate that the buying support should persist within the local front," Malacca Securities said in a note.
Malacca Securities said, still, with Apple's buying interest reignited with the incorporation of AI into its products, there might be spillover of buying support towards stocks on the local front within the Technology sector.
"Also, we like the ongoing AI and Data Center catalysts to boost the appetite for the hard disk drive, cloud, and cybersecurity segments. "We like the construction, building material, property, utilities, and renewable energy sectors as it could benefit under the rising demand for data center going forward," it added.