A report in the Nikkei Asian Review said the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.57 per cent to 1,653.87 points. The index is little changed for the month, and down 2.3 per cent for the year so far.

It said Genting, UMW Holdings, IOI Corporation and MISC led gains on the KLCI, while Hong Leong Financial Group and Malayan Banking were among the handful of stocks to end lower.

The ringgit rose 0.92 per cent to 3.993 against the dollar, its highest since July 1. It also marked the currency’s best performance against the greenback in over a month, the report said.

Foreign investors bought Malaysian equities worth RM93.5 million last week, according to MIDF Research.

Data released Friday showed the US economy added 287,000 jobs last month, the highest pace since October and much better than economists’ estimates.

Analysts said while the data helped ease concerns about US economic growth, it would not prompt an early rate increase by the Federal Reserve, as the potential impact of Britain leaving the European Union continues to remain at the forefront of policymakers’ minds.

“We do not think that the June employment report per se was sufficient to firm up the timing of the next Fed rate increase,” Thomas Lam, an economist at RHB Research Institute was quoted in the Nikkei report as saying.

The employment report sparked gains in global risk assets, lifting Wall Street stocks to their highest levels this year.

“Essentially, we believe that, while the July Fed meeting is virtually certain to remain unchanged and a September move is challenging (but not out of the question), the odds still appear to be skewed toward a 25 basis points hike at the December 2016 meeting,” Lam added.