KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index trended upward to end the morning session higher as investors regained buying interest in heavyweights, taking the cue from upbeat regional markets.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was up 8.93 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 1,620.67 from Tuesday’s close of 1,611.74.
The benchmark index, which opened 4.39 points higher at 1,616.13, swung between 1,614.41 and 1,621.79 during the session.
However, the broader market was negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 543 to 425. A total of 515 counters were unchanged, 1,318 untraded and 82 suspended.
Turnover reached 2.50 billion units, valued at RM1.41 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, in a note, said the renewed buying interest in the local bourse was driven by a positive rebound in Wall Street's performance overnight.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added one sen to RM9.99, Public Bank garnered five sen to RM4.35, CIMB added nine sen to RM7.56, Tenaga Nasional and IHH rose four sen each to RM13.14 and RM8.08, respectively.
On the most active list, Aizo fell 2.5 sen to 4.5 sen, TWL and Malayan United Industries were unchanged at 2.5 sen and 5.5 sen, respectively. D&O Green Tech fell 18.5 sen to 90.5 sen, while Tanco added two sen to RM1.10.
Among the top gainers, Hong Leong Industries rose 60 sen to RM14.94, Allianz and BLD Plantation
added 44 sen each to RM18.52 and RM15, respectively. Petronas Dagangan and KOTRA improved by 16 sen each to RM20.78 and RM4.36, respectively.
Among the top losers, KL Kepong lost 48 sen to RM20.56, Kelington and MPI slipped 18 sen each to RM5.22 and RM32.86, respectively. DRB-Hicom and Greatech both eased 13 sen to RM1.17 and RM1.66 respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 41.38 points to 12,027.73, the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 22.48 points to 11,988.0, and the FBMT 100 Index advanced 50.99 points to 11,807.42.
The FBM ACE Index slipped 31.85 points to 4,893.19, while the FBM Mid 70 Index went up 11.84 points to 16,958.64.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index climbed 125.27 points to 18,594.27, the Industrial Products & Services Index put on 0.88 of-a-point to 164.43, while the Plantation Index trimmed 54.68 points to 8,177.54 and the Energy Index eased 3.20 points to 757.12. - Bernama
