Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session on a firmer note, supported by continued bargain-hunting in selected heavyweight stocks, particularly within the consumer and industrial products and services sectors. At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 8.37 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 1,691.44 from Friday's close of 1,683.07. The market was closed on Monday and Tuesday for public holidays. The benchmark index, which opened 4.06 points higher at 1,687.13, moved between 1,679.12 and 1,693.09 during the morning session.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, despite the FBM KLCI gains, market breadth was negative, with decliners outpacing advancers at 622 to 467, while 504 counters were unchanged, 1,010 untraded, and 13 suspended. Turnover stood at 2.26 billion units worth RM2.28 billion. Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, in a note today, said that with oil prices continuing to remain below US$100 per barrel, the sentiment is believed to bode well for AirAsia X Bhd and Capital A Bhd, which are poised for a breakout. Traders could also take positions in technology firm 3REN Bhd and infrastructure conglomerate Ranhill Utilities Bhd following their recent pullbacks, with the former acting as a proxy to ride on Intel's artificial intelligence progress while the latter benefits from ongoing data centre developments in Johor.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank increased two sen to RM10.66 and Public Bank rose five sen to RM4.76, while Tenaga Nasional dropped six sen to RM14.22, CIMB fell five sen to RM7.43, and IHH erased 15 sen to RM8.86. Among active stocks, Nationgate was two sen lower at 86 sen, Bus Cap gained 11.5 sen to 34.5 sen, Zetrix inched up half a sen to 81 sen, Top Glove bagged 5.5 sen to 86 sen, and GIIB Holdings added 2.5 sen to 42.5 sen.
Top gainers included Nestle, which surged RM2.98 to RM93.98, while Petronas Dagangan jumped RM1.04 to RM18.78, Malayan Cement increased 48 sen to RM7.02. Ajinomoto climbed 36 sen to RM14.22, and Hong Leong Bank shot up 34 sen to RM21.22. As for the top losers, United Plantation declined 88 sen to RM30.20, Fraser and Neave lost 72 sen to RM27.58, Kuala Lumpur Kepong dipped 52 sen to RM19.80, Batu Kawan retreated 42 sen to RM19.54, and Hong Leong Industries went down 50 sen to RM18.50.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 28.26 points to 12,608.38, the FBM Top 100 Index increased 33.39 points to 12,450.93, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 26.19 points to 12,630.27. Meanwhile, the FBM Mid 70 Index trimmed 70.47 points to 18,413.86 and the FBM ACE Index weakened 43.68 points to 4,720.13. By sector, the Financial Services Index rose 72.06 points to 19,596.35, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 3.26 points to 201.08, and the Energy Index gained 2.61 points to 781.36, but the Plantation Index eased 35.27 points to 8,464.27.