KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia continues to rise on the bullish sentiment in global equities as investors train their focus on the strong likelihood of a rate cute in September.
Malaysia equities are on an uptrend after coming back from a rout two weeks earlier following the unwinding of Japan's yen carry trade and as a steep fall in US inflation pointed to a potential recession in the US.
The FBM KLCI rose 1.24 points at Monday's open to 1,625.14, putting it another step closer to reclaiming its year's high of 1,636.55.
Malacca Securities Research said it expected buying interest to emerge in the technology sector given the positive environment in the US, especially with improved sentiment in the second half of the year.
"Banking stocks, which rallied on Friday, are likely to continue their upward
trend following the release of strong Malaysia GDP data.
"Additionally, we expect the Consumer and Shipping sectors to benefit from the stronger ringgit.
"Furthermore, we remain optimistic about the Construction, Property, Building Materials, and Utilities sectors ahead of the earnings season," it added in a note.
Meanwhile, investors will be kept on their toes as Bursa Malaysia's results period will hit full stride this week with a torrent of companies scheduled to release their quarterly report cards.
Stocks seeing early gains on Monday included CIMB up 12 sen to RM7.78, Press Metal
rising 11 sen to RM5.13, and MISC climbing 14 sen to RM8.75.
Among the leading actives, Top Glove rose 2.5 sen to RM97.5 sen, MYEG added four sen to 95.5 sen and MUI Properties rallied four sen to 42 sen.
