Kuala Lumpur:Bursa Malaysia maintained its positive momentum at mid-morning, driven by active buying in selected heavyweight stocks, especially in the financial services sector.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 1.23 points to reach 1,632.10 at 11 am, rising from the previous close of 1,630.87. The market had opened 2.55 points higher at 1,633.42.

Key financial stocks contributed significantly to the index's rise. Public Bank increased by four sen to RM4.70, Malayan Banking added six sen to RM10.08, and Hong Leong Bank saw a gain of 22 sen to RM22.86, collectively adding 3.53 points to the composite index.

Despite the positive movement in the index, the broader market saw more decliners than gainers, with 488 losers compared to 413 gainers. Additionally, 454 counters remained unchanged, 1,418 were untraded, and 24 were suspended. The market turnover was recorded at 2.23 billion shares with a value of RM907.43 million.

Among other heavyweight stocks, 99 Speed Mart went up by five sen to RM3.11, AMMV gained 10 sen to RM6.49, and Press Metal Aluminium climbed three sen to RM7.20. Conversely, YTL Power International decreased by eight sen to RM5.60, while Petronas Chemicals dropped seven sen to RM4.14.

In terms of active stocks, V.S Industry rose three sen to 32 sen, and Top Glove increased 3.5 sen to 79.5 sen. On the other hand, Zetrix AI fell by four sen to 7.5 sen, Cuscapi decreased by one sen to four sen, and Excel Force MSC weakened by 5.5 sen to 15.5 sen.

Top gainers included UWC, which jumped 37 sen to RM7.94, UMS Integration, up 36 sen to RM9.39, and Vitrox, appreciating 32 sen to RM10.78. Fraser and Neave strengthened by 28 sen to RM21.86, and Kelington advanced 27 sen to RM8.90.

Malaysian Pacific Industries led the decliners, falling by 32 sen to RM42.08, followed by Kuala Lumpur Kepong, which slipped 22 sen to RM20.78. Hengyuan Refining Company, Wellspire, and Genting Plantations each fell by 12 sen to RM3.52, 50 sen, and RM5.64, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index rose by 54.74 points to 17,536.67, the FBM Emas Index added 19.41 points to 12,189.98, the FBM Top 100 Index advanced 16.40 points to 11,974.08, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index edged up 3.67 points to 12,063.99. The FBM ACE Index also improved by 38.84 points to 5,538.30.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.43 of-a-point to 178.95, and the Financial Services Index climbed 107.63 points to 19,148.14. Meanwhile, the Energy Index decreased by 1.35 points to 831.68, and the Plantation Index reduced by 57.81 points to 8,998.74.