Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia continued its positive tone at midday, supported by gains in heavyweight utility and industrial products counters. At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.75 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,736.21 from yesterday's close of 1,731.46. The benchmark index opened 0.01 of a point higher at 1,731.47, and fluctuated between 1,728.64 and 1,737.18 during the morning trading session.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the broader market showed gainers outpacing losers 557 to 484, with 537 counters unchanged, 1,209 untraded, and 13 suspended. Turnover totaled 2.15 billion units worth RM1.60 billion. Apex Securities Bhd noted that healthcare counters could remain supported by sustained buying momentum, while energy counters may benefit from firm crude oil prices. However, property counters might remain subdued following their recent underperformance against the broader market.
Among heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional rose 20 sen to RM14.54, while Public Bank and IHH Healthcare both eased four sen to RM5.15 and RM8.31, respectively. CIMB Group slipped five sen to RM7.84, and Maybank was flat at RM10.56. On the most active list, Dagang NeXchange rose three sen to 52.5 sen, Zetrix AI added 1.5 sen to 73 sen, Top Glove gained half a sen to 66.5 sen, and Genetec Technology advanced 2.5 sen to 42.5 sen, while VS Industry remained flat at 24.5 sen.
For top gainers, Nestle rose 40 sen to RM103.00, United Plantations added 36 sen to RM33.56, UMS Integration increased 23 sen to RM8.10, YTL Power International climbed 19 sen to RM4.97, and Petronas Dagangan expanded 18 sen to RM19.18. In contrast, Malaysian Pacific Industries fell 56 sen to RM47.54, BLD Plantation slipped 40 sen to RM14.60, and Hong Leong Bank eased 20 sen to RM22.54. Hong Leong Industries declined 16 sen to RM17.82, and Batu Kawan fell 12 sen to RM20.76.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 37.76 points to 12,891.99, the FBM Top 100 Index gained 33 points to 12,699.83, the FBM ACE Index advanced 29.67 points to 5,198.89, the FBM Mid 70 Index increased 40.40 points to 18,438.32, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 54.40 points to 12,758.58. By sector, the Energy Index rose 10.55 points to 783.77, the Industrial Products and Services Index advanced 2.15 points to 190.12, and the Plantation Index edged up 1.11 points to 9,485.11, while the Financial Services Index slid 80.02 points to 20,294.19.