Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia's benchmark index concluded the morning trading session on a positive note, buoyed by sustained buying interest in heavyweights and a favorable performance in regional markets. At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) recorded an increase of 9.98 points, or 0.59%, reaching 1,712.28, compared to Monday's close of 1,702.30.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FBM KLCI opened slightly higher at 1,702.61 and fluctuated between 1,700.54 and 1,716.64 throughout the morning session. Market breadth was positive, with 593 gainers surpassing 451 losers, while 519 counters remained unchanged, 1,196 were untraded, and 14 were suspended. The turnover was reported at 1.96 billion units worth RM1.56 billion.
The regional markets also showed gains, contributing to the positive sentiment. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index increased by 0.13% to 26,394.86, Singapore's Straits Times Index rose by 0.21% to 5,014.47, South Korea's Kospi Index surged by 2.34% to 6,364.92, and Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 1.28% to 59,578.40.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd noted that the market is keenly observing developments in West Asia, although optimism remains regarding utility players benefiting from the nation's data center growth, serving as proxies for Tenaga Nasional Bhd's grid upgrades.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank's stock remained unchanged at RM11.34, Public Bank increased by seven sen to RM4.76, Tenaga Nasional rose by 22 sen to RM14.62, CIMB Group advanced by 22 sen to RM7.81, while IHH Healthcare decreased by four sen to RM8.74.
On the active list, VS Industry added two sen to 21 sen, Zetrix AI stayed unchanged at 85.5 sen, MTT Shipping, a Main Market debutant, dipped three sen to RM1.00, AirAsia X climbed nine sen to RM1.39, and Sunway Healthcare remained flat at RM1.93.
Top gainers in the morning session included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which surged RM1.50 to RM35.70, Hong Leong Financial Group, which rose 42 sen to RM19.30, Dutch Lady Milk Industries, which gained 36 sen to RM32.38, Hong Leong Bank, which advanced 26 sen to RM22.66, and UWC, which added 26 sen to RM4.81.
Among the top losers, Bintulu Port fell 34 sen to RM5.25, UMS Integration dropped 27 sen to RM5.88, Petronas Chemicals declined 26 sen to RM5.05, Fraser and Neave slid 24 sen to RM31.22, and Petronas Gas lost 16 sen to RM18.06.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index rose by 67.95 points to 12,451.73, the FBM Emas Index increased by 73.02 points to 12,616.37, the FBM Mid 70 Index improved by 76.84 points to 17,765.42, the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 21.98 points to 12,445.65, and the FBM ACE Index advanced by 50.64 points to 4,633.62.
In terms of sector performance, the Financial Services Index gained 230.35 points to 20,247.80, while the Industrial Products and Services Index eased by 2.27 points to 184.45. The Energy Index slipped by 1.32 points to 804.74, and the Plantation Index declined by 19.13 points to 8,852.99.