KUALA LUMPUR (July 3): The FBM KLCI is expected to kick start the second half of the year on a cautious mode today, underpinned by the mixed close at the global markets last Friday.

Oil rose for a seventh straight session on Friday on a declining U.S. rig count and stronger demand data from China, while U.S. equities mostly rebounded to end a volatile week on an up-beat, helped by a double-digit jump in Nike shares, according to Reuters.

The dollar recovered slightly but hawkish signals this week from the European Central Bank, Bank of England and Bank of Canada led the greenback to post its biggest quarterly decline against a basket of currencies in nearly seven years, it said.

Meanwhile, it said the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 62.6 points, or 0.29 percent, to 21,349.63 and the S&P 500 gained 3.71 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,423.41. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.93 points, or 0.06 percent, to 6,140.42.

The three indices fell for the week, but rose for the month and second quarter. The S&P 500 rose 8.3 percent for the first half, the Dow 8 percent and the Nasdaq 14 percent, its biggest first-half gain since 2009, said Reuters.

In Europe, shares closed lower and ended June with their biggest monthly loss in a year as worries over tighter monetary conditions soured the mood, it said.

Based on corporate announcements and news flow last Friday, companies that may be in focus today may include the following: LB Aluminium Bhd, Astino Bhd, Goldis Bhd, Borneo Oil Bhd, Prolexus Bhd,  Cypark Resources Bhd, Pelikan International Corp Bhd, Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Bhd, Subur Tiasa Holdings Bhd, XingQuan International Sports Holdings Bhd and Hock Seng Lee Bhd.