KUALA LUMPUR: The local bourse is expected to build on last Friday's gains as investor sentiment rose on signs of returning foreign funds into emerging markets.
Apex Securities Research, however, said gains on the domestic market are expected to be measured in light of the absence of fresh leads.
"Investors will be keeping a close tab onto a slew of manufacturing data to be release in major economies such as Japan, China, Malaysia, UK and US later today," said the research firm in its outlook.
Sector wise, Apex favours the telco sector post-completion of a share subscription agreement (SSA) with Digital Nasional Bhd and MoF Inc for a smoother transition to the 5G dual wholesale network (DWN) model.
Meanwhile, it added that the government's decision to keep the electricity tariff unchanged till end-2024 bodes well for the consumer sector.
The FBM KLCI opened 0.27 points higher on Monday, indicating that investors remained cautious over the trading direction.
There were gains in telcos Maxis, up three sen to RM3.56, and Axiata rising one sen to RM2.62, although Tenaga Nasional slid 14 sen to RM13.64.
Nestle was also up 40 sen to RM121.90.
Meanwhile, leading gainers on the market included MSM climbing 10 sen to RM2.43, Hume Industries gaining nine sen to RM3.44 and Crescendo rising six sen to RM3.71.
Of actives, Ingenieur rose 0.5 sen to 5.5 sen, Hiaptek added two sen to 44.5 sen and SNS Network lost one sen to 74.5 sen.
