Malaysian shares opened the week in positive territory as investor sentiment remained after upbeat the country's GDP rose faster than expected in the first quarter.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI, the main gauge of Malaysian stocks, gained 10.88 points to end 0.67% higher at 1,627.50.

In economic news, Malaysia's gross domestic product rose 4.2% in the first quarter of the year, faster than the 2.9% growth seen in the preceding quarter, according to the data released by the Department of Statistics (DoSM).

Moreover, Malaysia's trade balance continued to be a surplus of 7.7 billion ringgit, albeit plunging 39% from 12.6 billion ringgit a year earlier, according to data released by the country's Department of Statistics on Monday.

Exports rose 9.1% year over year in April to 114.7 billion ringgit, softer than the 14.1% growth estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Imports, meanwhile, jumped 5.6% to 107 billion ringgit versus a year ago, the department said.

Malaysia's new vehicle sales rose 21% annually in April to 57,991 units from 47,802, according to the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).

In corporate news, shares of both the mobile virtual network operator XOX (KLSE:XOX), while those of Zen Tech International (KLSE:ZENTECH) rallied over 33% on Monday's close.