KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia started the day on a higher note, following last week's positive trend, influenced by the favourable overnight performance on Wall Street that served as a cue for investors.
At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 2.86 points to 1,4789.23, from Monday's close of 1,486.37.
The benchmark index opened 0.98 of-a-point better at 1,487.35.
On the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 236 to 115, while 231 counters were unchanged.
Turnover amounted to 223.65 million units worth RM107.03 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI rebounded following a correction from the 1,500 level a week before.
He added that although bargain hunting activities were apparent, the market undertone remains cautious with many investors adopting a wait and see attitude.
"Meanwhile, the contagion from the small caps seems limited to a selected few and may not be as bad as initially feared. For today, we believe the index to hover within the 1,485 to 1,495 range.
"Plantation stocks may be in focus today as the crude palm oil (CPO) has rallied to almost the RM4,000 per tonne mark due to demand from China for the forthcoming Chinese New Year," he told Business Times.
Meanwhile, Thong said Wall Street ended higher as traders chose to focus on the positives, namely a solid labour market and robust economy ignoring the fact that the Federal Reserve may prolong prevailing high interest rates environment.
Thus, he said the Dow Jones Industrial (DJI) Average jumped by 395 points while the Nasdaq added 295 points as the US 10-year yield dipped marginally to 4.13 per cent.
In Hong Kong, Thong noted that the Hang Seng Index maintained its weakness as global funds are shunning the market in the absence of any stimulus from China so far despite valuations have fallen to an all-time low.