KUALA LUMPUR (July 11): The FBM KLCI is expected to trade range bound today as a dearth of fresh catalysts at the local market has kept investors on the sidelines despite the firmer global markets.

The U.S. dollar climbed to a two-month high against the yen on Monday and global equity markets rallied, lifted by robust economic data from Germany and renewed interest in U.S. technology stocks spurred by an Amazon Prime online sale event, according to Reuters.

The dollar rose after the Bank of Japan last week offered to buy an unlimited amount of bonds and following an unexpected drop in May in Japanese machinery orders that pressured the yen, it said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24.35 points, or 0.11 percent, to 21,438.69. The S&P 500 gained 5.88 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,431.06, and the Nasdaq Composite added 33.78 points, or 0.55 percent, to 6,186.86, said Reuters.

Stock markets advanced around the world as well. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading regional shares rose 0.42 percent to close at 1,500.77, while MSCI's gauge of global stocks gained 0.39 percent, it said.

Based on corporate announcements and news flow yesterday, companies that will be in focus today may include: Versatile Creative Bhd, Iris Corp Bhd, Enra Group Bhd, Gadang Holdings Bhd, 7 Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd, Malaysia Airpprts Holdings Bhd and Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd.