KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended higher as bargain hunting activities emerged following last week's sell-off, with a focus on gaming, telco and commodity-related stocks.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 6.54 points to 1,451.72 from last Friday's closing of 1,445.18.
The index opened 0.28 of-a-point easier at 1,444.90, its intraday low, and hit an intraday high of 1,453.99 throughout the day.
On the broader market, gainers edged past losers 489 to 481, while 402 counters were unchanged, 1,007 untraded and nine others suspended.
Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the firm maintains a cautiously optimistic outlook on the market, given the improving investor sentiment.
However, Thong advised investors to remain vigilant amid growing global volatility and uncertainty.
"Consequently, we expect the benchmark index to fluctuate within the range of 1,445-1,465 for the remainder of the week," he said.
Bursa heavyweights CelcomDigi Bhd and Petronas ChemicalsGroup Bhd were eight sen higher at RM4.33 and RM7.27, respectively.
Genting Bhd jumped 13 sen to RM4.28 and Sime Darby Plantation Bhd increased six sen to RM4.39.
Of the actives, Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd and Widad Group Bhd added half-a-sen sen to 5.0 sen and 46 sen, respectively, while Fitters Diversified Bhd was down half-a-sen to 5.0 sen.