KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia was able to pare earlier losses to close higher on Tuesday supported by buying activities on commodity related stocks.
At 5pm, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up by 2.94 points or 0.2 per cent to 1,442.14 versus Monday's close of 1,439.20.
The benchmark index which opened in the red at 1,438.75 moved between 1,437.98 and 1,443.46 throughout the day.
Across the index board, FBM100 was up 39.58 points or 0.39 per cent to close at 10,315.36, FBM Emas added 39.27 points or 0.37 per cent to 10,638.59 and FBM Ace gained 11.81 points or 0.24 per cent to 5,017.41.
The broader market was also positive with gainers surpassing decliners 410 to 398 while 486 counters remained unchanged.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said sentiment in the local bourse is likely to stay cautious due to heightened external volatility and the potential for foreign funds to introduce some selling pressure.
"Nonetheless, it's worth mentioning that the current valuation of the FBM KLCI remains attractive.
"We anticipate the benchmark index to maintain its sideways pattern with an upside bias for the rest of the week trending between 1,430-1,450," he said.
Meanwhile, Thong noted key regional indices ended mostly lower as investors are cautious awaiting the United States Federal Reserve announcing its next move on interest rates, as well as on the Bank of Japan's policy meeting.
"Additionally, investor sentiment took a hit as China's manufacturing sector unexpectedly contracted in October, while non-manufacturing growth decelerated significantly," he added.