KUALA LUMPUR: The positive economic data from the US and subsequent Wall Street rally is expected to boost sentiment on Bursa Malaysia or another session, while bargain=hunting could continue in beaten-down small caps.
"Given the extended positive momentum in global market, we expect spillover effect into the local market," said Apex Securities Research in a note.
In the US, the next major economic event on the calendar would be the Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week, which would see the central bank make a fresh decision on the lending rate.
Investors will also remain focused on the ongoing release of corporate earnings on Wall Street.
Meanwhile, Malacca Securities Research believes the bullish sentiment on the local market may stay bullish as Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index spiked above the 16,000 level on news China was ramping up stimulus while the People's Bank of China announced policy-easing measures.
"Given the solid close on Hong Kong and the US markets, we believe buying support may persist on the local front, especially within the Technology sector," said the research firm in its review.
At market open, the benchmark FBM KLCI was down 0.65 points to 1,503.45 as the market stumbled slightly following the previous session's strong gains.
However, despite the slight indecision, there were some blue chips making some fresh gains, including YTL Power up six sne to RM3.97, Sime Darby rising four sen to RM2.54, CIMB adding two sen to RM6.14 and Telekom Malaysia gaining four sen to RM5.96.
Some shares also climbed on the back of reports that they have teamed up to bid for the KL-Singapore high-speed rail contract.
These include IJM, up seven sen to RM2.25, Berjaya Land
gaining seven sen to 44.5 sen and Malaysian Resources Corp gaining 3.5 sen to 61.5 sen.
MRCB and Berjaya Land were among the top three most traded counters, but the top spot went to ACE Market debutant KJTS, which jumped 20 sen to 47 on the back of 43.57 million shares done.
