At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI was up 2.86 points at 1,601.09, following last Friday’s close of 1,598.23. The benchmark index had opened slightly higher at 1,599.78.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers outnumbering losers 183 to 118. Meanwhile, 273 counters were unchanged, 2,075 untraded, and 24 suspended.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, said that sentiment improved following a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, coupled with the US Federal Reserve’s easing measures announced last week.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd expects the KLCI to trade on a firmer footing amid a narrowing US-Malaysia interest rate differential.
“Positive sentiment on the Nasdaq may also spill over into local technology stocks in the near term,” the firm said in a note.
Among heavyweights, Maybank added three sen to RM9.83, Public Bank rose one sen to RM4.25, Tenaga Nasional gained six sen to RM13.44, CIMB Group climbed RM7.25, and IHH Healthcare inched up six sen to RM7.39.
In active trade, NexG strengthened one sen to 50 sen, PA Resources and Vetece Holdings rose half a sen to 16 sen and 28.5 sen respectively, while VS Industry and TA Win Holdings were flat at 59.5 sen and 1.5 sen.
Top gainers included Allianz Malaysia, which recouped 20 sen to RM18.94, Malaysian Pacific Industries, up 14 sen to RM29.26, KESM Industries, up nine sen to RM3.13, Heitech Padu, up eight sen to RM4.49, and Gamuda, up five sen to RM5.57.
Top losers included Petronas Dagangan, down 60 sen to RM22.40, Dutch Lady Milk Industries, down 22 sen to RM27.16, United Plantations, down 12 sen to RM23, Frontken Corp, down seven sen to RM4.29, and PPB Group, down six sen to RM10.14.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index added 17.67 points to 11,914.10, the FBMT 100 Index rose 16.09 points to 11,663.40, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 13.05 points to 11,976.42.
The FBM 70 Index climbed 2.61 points to 16,746.02, while the FBM ACE Index gained 11.02 points to 4,926.45.
By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.23 of-a-point to 168.34, the Plantation Index advanced 14.08 points to 7,758.42, the Energy Index gained 0.17 of-a-point to 755.49, and the Financial Services Index rose 32.76 points to 18,036.06.