KUALA LUMPUR: The positive sentiment on Bursa Malaysia continued over the morning session as the heavyweights on the FBM KLCI index gained momentum in the lead up to Budget 2023.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark index was up 14.65 points to 1,424.01, as the a pick-up in global buying interest also helped to shore up equities prices.
The overall market was positive with 487 gainers compared with 265 decliners. Trading volume was 2.12 billion shares valued at RM819.1mil.
Recent economic data, including a weaker US jobs report, suggests tightening measures are having an effect on tempering inflation levels, lending hope that future interest rate hikes will not be as aggressive as feared.
On the Malaysian blue-chip index, Press Metal
soared 29 sen to RM4.29 as the London Metal Exchange considers placing a ban on the import of Russian metals, triggering a spike in aluminium prices.
A jump in Brent crude prices above the US$90 a barrel level also shored up oil-and-gas-related stocks, including PETRONAS Chemicals, which rose 21 sen to RM8.60 and PETRONAS Gas, which jumped eight sen to RM16.64.
Bank stocks meanwhile stayed bullish with Maybank adding three sen to R8.71, Public Bank rising two sen to RM4.29, CIMB gaining six sen to RM5.29 and Hong Leong Bank climbing 12 sen to RM20.74.
Widely seen as a proxy for oil prices, Hibiscus Petroleum was 9.5 sen higher at 96.5 sen with 42.52 million shares traded, the second most active of the morning session.
MAG led trading volume with a 0.5 sen increase to four sen with a whopping 792.32 million shares traded.
Top Glove rounded off the top three most active stocks, adding one sen to 63 sen with 39.62 million units crossing hands.
Meanwhile, Asian markets maintained their bullish mood although buying had slowed from the previous session.
Japan's Nikkei was up 0.45% to 27,109 while South Korea's Kospi lost earlier gains to slip 0.1% into the red at 2,207.
China's markets remained shuttered while Hong Kong's Hang Seng reopened to climb 5.5% to 18,013 as it played catch up to the recent global rally.
Australia's ASX200 meanwhile remained buoyed by its central bank's lower-than-expected interest rate hike, rising 1.65% to 6,809.
