KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened slightly lower on Monday but rebounded after that, supported by mild buying interest in selected heavyweights, in line with the positive momentum in regional markets, dealers said.

At 9.25 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) improved by 0.75 point to 1,495.78 from Friday's close of 1,495.03.

The market bellwether opened 0.22 point weaker at 1,494.81.    

In the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 249 to 203, while 305 counters were unchanged, 1,445 untraded, and 28 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 558.12 million units worth RM198.33 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the positive sentiment on Wall Street last Friday may spill over to the local bourse. "Traders may focus on China's reopening theme while awaiting Malaysia's inflation data and Bank Negara's interest rate decision this week," it said in a research note today.

Commodities-wise, the brokerage noted that Brent crude oil price climbed above US$85 per barrel, while the price of crude palm oil (CPO) consolidated below RM3,850 per kg while the price of gold rose above US$1,900 per ounce.

"The technology sector should see buying momentum building up as the Nasdaq has steadied above the 11,000 level.

"And investors can add exposure to banking stocks ahead of Malaysia's interest rate decision. In view of the rising gold price, the trading interest could be seen in gold counters," it added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank slipped 2.0 sen to RM8.84, CIMB edged down 1.0 sen to RM5.77 and TNB declined 6.0 sen to RM9.42. Public Bank and Petronas Chemicals were flat at RM4.33 and RM5.99, respectively.

As for the actives, Velesto earned half-a-sen to 18 sen, while Serba Dinamik and Eduspce were flat at 2.0 sen and 1.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index expanded 12.28 points to 10,798.08, the FBMT 100 Index strengthened 11.61 points to 10,494.18, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 28.48 points to 11,005.20.

The FBM 70 Index grew 42.29 points to 13,422.96 and the FBM ACE Index pushed up 5.39 points to 5,460.87.  

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index fell 18.07 points to 16,603.08 and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 1.0 point to 186.29. 

The Plantation Index ticked up 6.73 points to 6,929.64 and the Energy Index garnered 1.23 points to 824.17.