Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia's benchmark index experienced a slight increase during the morning session, attributed to continued buying interest in heavyweights, particularly within the industrial products, utilities, and banking sectors. At 12:30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 0.61 points, reaching 1,722.31 from the previous close of 1,721.70.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FBM KLCI opened 1.55 points higher at 1,723.25 and fluctuated between 1,719.73 and 1,724.30 points throughout the morning trading session. Despite the slight uptick, market breadth remained negative with 494 losers outnumbering 484 gainers, while 570 counters remained unchanged, 1,200 untraded, and 49 suspended. The turnover was reported at 1.83 billion units, valued at RM1.42 billion.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank experienced a decline of four sen to RM11.18, Public Bank eased by two sen to RM4.82, while Tenaga Nasional gained six sen to RM14.66. CIMB Group saw an increase of three sen to RM7.81, IHH Healthcare slid five sen to RM8.80, and Press Metal Aluminium advanced 27 sen to RM8.34.

In terms of the most active stocks, VS Industry added one sen to 21.5 sen, Zetrix AI edged down by half a sen to 86 sen, Mega Fortris fell four sen to RM1.25, AMS Advanced Material rose by 3.5 sen to 34 sen, and Capital A held steady at 44.5 sen.

Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which rose RM1.94 to RM38.28, Nestle, up 94 sen to RM98.94, Vitrox Corporation, climbing 52 sen to RM5.50, UMS Integration, gaining 43 sen to RM6.64, and Kelington Group, adding 30 sen to RM6.28.

Conversely, top losers were headed by Allianz Malaysia, down by 36 sen to RM20.92, followed by Chin Teck Plantations, which fell 30 sen to RM10.80, United Plantations, decreasing 28 sen to RM32.30, Dutch Lady Milk Industries, shedding 26 sen to RM32.60, and Fraser and Neave Holdings, losing 22 sen to RM30.48.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 16.54 points to 12,722.70, the FBMT 100 Index gained 14.59 points to 12,561.52, the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 32.61 points to 12,597.97, the FBM 70 Index advanced 64.70 points to 18,080.95, and the FBM ACE Index edged up 1.09 points to 4,636.76.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index decreased by 35.00 points to 20,247.23, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 2.42 points to 192.38, the Energy Index eased 0.28 points to 827.81, and the Plantation Index fell by 41.81 points to 8,838.71.