KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index ended the morning trading session higher in line with the upbeat regional markets although sentiment remained cautious amid ongoing developments in the Strait of Hormuz.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.11 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 1,700.32 from last Friday’s close of 1,695.21.
The FBM KLCI, which opened 1.71 points lower at 1,693.50, moved between 1,689.00 and 1,703.64 during the morning session.
However, market breadth was negative with losers surpassing gainers 604 to 418, while 530 counters were unchanged, 1,206 untraded, and 24 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.75 billion units worth RM1.33 billion.
At the time of writing, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index increased 0.83 per cent to 26,376.98, South Korea’s Kospi Index climbed 1.02 per cent to 6,255.20, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.72 per cent to 58,899.49, and Indonesia's IDX Composite Index inched up 0.02 per cent to 7,635.41.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 12 sen to RM11.22, Public Bank put on one sen to RM4.69, CIMB Group
rose 13 sen to RM7.60, and IHH Healthcare edged up two sen to RM8.75, but Tenaga Nasional slipped two sen to RM14.30.
On the most active list, Zetrix AI increased half a sen to 84 sen, Inari rose seven sen to RM1.72, and Sunway Healthcare gained five sen to RM1.89, while AirAsia X eased three sen to RM1.30 and Empire Premium Food shaved off one sen to RM1.03.
Among the top gainers, Fraser & Neave advanced 42 sen to RM31.42, Hong Leong Industries surged 28 sen to RM17.58, Hong Leong Bank jumped 18 sen to RM22.40, Petronas Gas strengthened 16 sen to RM18.18, and Dutch Lady improved 12 sen to RM32.38.
Of the top losers, Nestle fell RM1.38 to RM97.62, United Plantations declined 56 sen to RM33.62, Petronas Dagangan dropped 46 sen to RM20.12, Petronas Chemicals slid 20 sen to RM5.37, and UMS Integration lost 19 sen to RM5.91.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index rose 27.71 points to 12,378.92, the FBM Emas Index increased 22.31 points to 12,540.48, the FBM Mid 70 Index edged down 1.07 points to 17,722.66, the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 11.99 points to 12,436.07, and the FBM ACE Index trimmed 18.16 points to 4,581.49.
By sector, the Financial Services Index added 147.58 points to 19,962.25, the Industrial Products and Services Index reduced 1.38 points to 186.66, the Energy Index gave up 9.66 points to 806.11, and the Plantation Index retreated 27.23 points to 8,901.43. - Bernama
