KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened on a positive note, buoyed by an overnight surge in U.S. stocks, analysts said.
At 9.05 am, the barometer index perked up 1.24 points to 1,449.28 versus 1,448.04 chalked up at yesterday's close.
The FBM KLCI opened 0.84 points better at 1,448.88.
On the broader market, gainers thumped losers 180 to 108, while 259 counters were unchanged.
Turnover amounted to 191.09 million units worth RM78.44 million.
Tradeview Capital fund manager Neoh Jia Man said the indications of dovish pivots by the U.S. The Federal Reserve has bolstered market sentiment.
"We anticipate a strong performance in the local market today, driven by the spillover optimism. "However, we do not see any significant domestic drivers in the near term and hence we maintain our view that the FBM KLCI is likely to track along with its regional counterparts.
Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said on the global front, Wall Street rallied as the DJI Average closed at a record high above the 37,000-level following the Federal Reserve's forecasts that it will cut interest rates 3 times in 2024 amid the slowing inflation trend.
Regionally, Hong Kong, the HSI retreated after losing 145 points to end at a year-to-date low following the lack of new measures to aid the troubled property sector during China's policy meeting recently.
Back home, the FBM KLCI ended flat as the accumulation of blue chips remained prevalent, said Thong.
"Taking the positive cue from Wall Street, we believe the local bourse's performance to improve and expect the index to hover within the 1,450-1,460 range today.
"We expect buying interests will focus on the Banks, Telcos and possibly Construction stocks," he added.