Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia recovered into positive territory by lunch break, supported by buying interest in selected heavyweights led by three counters.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, IHH Healthcare rose eight sen to RM8.68, Press Metal gained six sen to RM8.96, and 99 Speedmart increased four sen to RM3.39. These three counters contributed 2.72 points to the benchmark index. At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged up 0.02 of a point to 1,679.54 from Monday's close of 1,679.52. The FBM KLCI, which opened 8.41 points higher at 1,687.93, spent most of the morning session in the red, moving between 1,675.04 and 1,687.93.

However, market breadth remained negative, with losers surpassing gainers 505 to 400, while 537 counters were unchanged, 1,233 untraded, and 13 suspended. Regionally, Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 0.97 per cent to 5,011.78, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.15 per cent to 24,620.43, South Korea's benchmark Kospi gained 7.10 per cent to 8,015.96, and Japan's Nikkei added 2.15 per cent to 65,400.37.

Among the heavyweights on Bursa Malaysia, Maybank erased two sen to RM10.68, Public Bank edged up one sen to RM4.79, Tenaga Nasional slipped two sen to RM14.20, CIMB was flat at RM7.39, and Hong Leong Bank slid six sen to RM20.90. Among the active stocks, Hong Seng Consolidated inched up half a sen to 1.5 sen, TFP Solutions improved 2.5 sen to eight sen, Zetrix AI shaved off one sen to 81 sen, Top Glove was half a sen better at 85.0 sen, and Tanco lost 17 sen to 95 sen.

As for the top gainers, Nestle surged 88 sen to RM92.88, Ajinomoto advanced 82 sen to RM15.24, Concrete Engineering jumped 51 sen to RM4.50, and Fraser and Neave climbed 34 sen to RM26.48. Among the top losers, IOI Properties declined 14 sen to RM4.02, Unisem reduced 13 sen to RM4.77, Sunway removed 12 sen to RM5.13, and Citaglobal warrants were down 11 sen to 32 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 4.32 points to 12,465.76, the FBM Top 100 Index eased 6.75 points to 12,308.74, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index notched down 9.71 points to 12,433.33. The FBM Mid 70 Index gave up 39.35 points to 17,971.04 while the FBM ACE Index edged up 28.07 points to 4,676.45.

By sector, the Financial Services Index shrank 0.73 of a point to 19,559.76, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 0.33 of a point to 196.68, and the Energy Index slid 6.52 points to 784.42, while the Plantation Index added 4.08 points to 8,729.48.