KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia started cautiously on Tuesday following the previous day's rebound above the 1,600-point psychological level.
The FBM KLCI rose 0.86 points to 1,604.18 at the opening bell, ahead of corporate earnings results and the inflation report scheduled for the end of week.
There is also high anticipation for global AI bellwether Nvidia's earnings release on Wednesday.
According to a Reuters report, Nvidia's third-quarter earnings report will spur investors to assess demand for chips and the sustainability of the AI euphoria that drove much of the market's rally this year.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.13% to 43,389.60, the S&P 500 gained 0.39% to 5,893.62 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.60% to 18,791.81.
Malacca Securities Research said it expects stronger sentiment for the local bourse going into the earnings season.
It added that the Trump administration's proposal for a 60% baseline tariff on Chinese imports will be positive for local technology and glove sectors, while the intensified Ukraine-Russia conflict may also boost sentiment in gold and oil-related counters.
"Also, we favour the construction, property, and building materials sectors, supported by growing data
center investments.
"We remain positive towards East Malaysia companies, buoyed by their recent strong IPO performances," it added in its outlook.
Among individual counters, there was profit-taking in Kuala Lumpur Kepong down eight sen to RM21.92, CIMB falling five sen to RM8.16 and Nestle shedding eight sen to RM 99.22.
Meanwhile, Sunway jumped 12 sen to RM4.84, Sunway Construction gained six sen to RM4.55 and Itmax rose seven sen to RM3.55.
Of actives, Classita was unchanged at 6.5 sen, Aizo rose 0.5 sen to 15 sen and Life Water gained 3.5 sen to 89.5 sen.
