Kuala Lumpur: Bursa Malaysia ended today’s morning session stronger amid improved sentiment and risk appetite following the development of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.38 points, or 0.42 percent, to 1,520.67 from Tuesday’s close of 1,514.29. The FBM KLCI, which opened 4.38 points higher at 1,518.67, fluctuated between 1,518.01 and 1,524.71 during the session.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the broader market was positive with 493 gainers outnumbering 308 decliners, while 431 counters remained unchanged, 1,211 were untraded, and 25 were suspended. Turnover stood at 1.81 billion units worth RM1.06 billion.

ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves noted that risk appetite was resilient as Asian equities trended higher following the ceasefire announcement, despite reports of earlier violations by both sides. “Market players will closely monitor Middle East developments for any signs of renewed geopolitical volatility,” he stated.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank gained three sen to RM9.83, Public Bank remained unchanged at RM4.31, Tenaga Nasional rose two sen to RM14.28, CIMB added three sen to RM6.80, and IHH Healthcare increased by 12 sen to RM6.71.

Among the most active stocks, NexG was steady at 35.5 sen, Reservoir Link fell 5.5 sen to 25.5 sen, MYEG rose by one sen to 93 sen, Tanco stayed unchanged at 94 sen, and Green Ocean decreased by 2.5 sen to 23.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 64.78 points to 11,352.81, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 63.37 points to 11,135.69, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 70.20 points to 11,294.35. The FBM 70 Index increased by 165.45 points to 16,244.43, and the FBM ACE Index went up by 47.75 points to 4,465.46.

By sector, the Financial Services Index appreciated by 43.03 points to 17,721.50, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 1.06 points to 150.03, the Plantation Index slipped by 9.95 points to 7,219.08, and the Energy Index ticked up by 1.36 points to 729.25.