KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI stayed on an upward trajectory over the early session with gains seen in more than two-thirds of the blue-chip counters.
At the break, the key index was up 6.22 points to 1,628.31, on track to its highest close since March 2021.
The broader market was also lifted by the positive sentiment wiht 679 gainers compared to 440 decliners and 480 unchanged.
Share turnover was 3.74 billion crossing for RM2.3bil.
Bank counters were among the leading gainers, including Hong Leong Bank up 12 sen to RM19.54, Ambank rising three sen to RM4.29 and CIMB gaining four sen to RM6.88
In plantations, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rose 28 sen to RM21.88 and IOI added five sen to RM3.97.
Tenaga Nasional rose 30 sen to RM13.08 while YTL Corp climbed four sen to RM3.86 and YTL Power gained four sen to RM5.42.
Of actives, Ingenieur was down 0.5 sen to 6.5 sen, SNS surged 11 sen to 61 sen and KNM rose one sen to 8.5 sen.
In regional markets, the sentiment was mixed following the release of the Federa Reserve's most recent meeting minutes, which affirmed a hawkish view among some members.
Japan's Nikkei rose 1.2% to 39,065 while China's composite index slid 1% to 3,125.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.4% to 18,930 and Singapore's Straits Times Index gained 0.26% to 3,315.
