KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 2): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session higher, lifted by buying in heavyweights, led by Sime Darby Plantation Bhd and Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.05 points to 1,535.97 from Monday’s close of 1,530.92.
The index opened 1.29 points higher at 1,532.21, and fluctuated between 1,532.21 and 1,544 during the session.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 548 to 354, while 401 counters were unchanged, 972 untraded and 15 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.04 billion units worth RM1.24 billion.
A dealer said Bursa Malaysia remained in the positive territory since the market opened this morning, taking its cue from the stronger Wall Street performance overnight, which saw the US market hovering around record highs on optimism over corporate earnings and gains for energy shares and Tesla.
“The local bourse’s performance was in line with regional peers which was mostly up in the morning session today (Nov 2).
“Investors are now waiting for the US Federal Reserve and other key central banks’ policy decisions for further market direction,” he said.
Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 increased 2.35% to 29,572.66, the Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.83% to 3,224.69, and South Korea’s Kospi improved 0.53% to 2,986.47, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.1% to 25,098.87.
Back home, heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd gained one sen each to RM8 and RM6.50, respectively, and IHH Healthcare Bhd added four sen to RM6.52, while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd slipped six sen to RM8.29 and Public Bank Bhd was flat at RM4.04.
Sime Darby Plantation advanced 16 sen to RM4.16 and Press Metal perked up seven sen to RM5.55.
Of the actives, Dagang NeXchange Bhd bagged two sen to 79 sen, Top Builders Capital Bhd slipped 2.5 sen to three sen, AirAsia X Bhd lost 1.5 sen to six sen, while Kanger International Bhd and TA Win Holdings Bhd were flat at four sen and 15.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 52.83 points to 11,383, the FBMT 100 Index rose 44.83 points to 11,004.33, the FBM 70 went up 95.04 points to 15,064.83, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 69.67 points to 12,435.74, and the FBM ACE firmed 25.38 points to 7,075.61.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 1.06 points to 203.2, the Plantation Index rose 78.24 points to 6,791.65, and the Financial Services Index improved 17.69 points to 15,174.96.-BERNAMA