KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened higher this morning and poised to continue its rally in the morning session, with the index aiming to retake the 1,600 level, said analysts.

At 9.21 am, the FBM KLCI added 4.00 points or 0.25 per cent to 1,601.44 from Monday's close of 1,598.20.

The benchmark index opened 0.38 of a point firmer at 1,598.58.

On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 342 to 201, with 326 counters unchanged, 1,520 untraded and eight suspended.

Turnover stood at 466.84 million units worth RM265.55 million.

Tradeview Capital fund manager Neoh Jia Man said strong gains in U.S. tech stocks overnight, along with favourable manufacturing activity and Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) data supporting an easing inflation narrative, are positive drivers for the market today.

"Given the still-attractive market valuation and ongoing fiscal reforms, we believe foreign investors will help support further gains in the local market over the next few months," he told Business Times.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI closed higher as bargain hunting activities emerged after a 7-day decline.

"However, we noticed daily volume traded has declined tremendously to below the 4 billion units threshold hence expect this to improve soon to sustain the recent uptrend. "As such, we anticipate the index to trend between the 1,600-,1610 range today as valuation remains reasonable amongst the blue chips," added Thong.Meanwhile, crude oil prices were mostly higher with the Brent crude closing in to the US$87/barrel on heightening geopolitical tension and improving demand.-ends-

https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2024/07/1071084/bursa-malaysia-opens-higher-key-index-retakes-1600-level