KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia keeps its momentum going at midday amid not-so-rosy regional markets as investors turn their attention to the upcoming US inflation report later tonight.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 5.05 points to 1,608.20 from Tuesday’s close of 1,603.15.
The benchmark index opened lower, declining 1.81 points to 1,601.34 and subsequently moved between 1,601.34 and 1,608.98 throughout the morning session.
Market breadth was positive as advancers outpaced decliners 437 to 422, while 489 counters remained unchanged, 1,109 untraded and 44 suspended.
Turnover was 1.9 billion units valued at RM1.3 billion.
An analyst said optimism about the domestic earnings outlook helped to spur interest in local stocks ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, with current forecasts indicating an uptick, fuelling a cautious outlook regionally.
Also, the latest Federal Open Market Committee minutes helped ease some concerns as the November meeting revealed that if economic data aligns with expectations, it would likely be appropriate to "move gradually” toward a neutral policy stance over time.
Meanwhle, heavyweights YTL Power bagged 21 sen to RM3.41, YTL Corp was 10 sen higher at RM2.05, IOI Corp rose seven sen to RM3.87, Petronas Dagangan climbed 36 sen to RM19.46 and Maybank was six sen higher at RM10.28.
Among the active stocks, Genetec Technology was 20.5 sen stronger at RM1.08, MBSB rose 1.5 sen to 74 sen, JCY International added five sen to 40.5 sen, Globetronics garnered 4.5 sen to 57.5 sen and Iconic Worldwide earned one sen to 11 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 36.75 points to 12,207.70, the FBMT 100 Index appreciated 32 points to 11,908.37, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 3.78 points to 12,126.58, the FBM 70 Index picked up 28.53 points to 17,919.38 and the FBM ACE Index earned 34.29 points to 5,173.54.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was 91.02 points up at 19,290.58 and the Energy Index edged up 3.22 points to 824.35.
The Industrial Products and Services Index lost 0.14 of-a-point to 172.18 and the Plantation Index was down 49.88 points to 7,482.74. - Bernama
