KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia remained higher at midday, buoyed by ongoing bargain hunting in selected heavyweights, particularly within the consumer and industrial products and services sectors, analysts said.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.30 per cent or 4.93 points to 1,637.56 from Wednesday’s close of 1,632.63.
The benchmark index, which opened 1.84 points higher at 1,634.47, fluctuated between 1,633.72 and 1,640.73 during the morning session.
Market breadth was positive, with advancers outpacing decliners by 528 to 314. A total of 442 counters remained unchanged, 1,209 were untraded, and 18 were suspended.
Turnover reached 1.53 billion units, valued at RM1.03 billion.
Maybank Investment Bank Bhd indicated that the consumer sector, which led the market yesterday, attracted increased buying interest as investors anticipate potential benefits from the upcoming Budget 2025 announcement.
“Technically, we expect the benchmark index to range between 1,620 and 1,640 points today, with support levels at 1,623 and 1,596 points,” the bank stated in a note.
Among the heavyweights, Sime Darby gained 5.0 sen to RM2.43, Petronas Chemicals rose 6.0 sen to RM5.67, while QL Resources and PMetal both added 4.0 sen, reaching RM4.74 and RM4.75, respectively. Tenaga climbed 12 sen to RM14.59.
In active trading, Aizo increased by half a sen to 15 sen, SMTrack remained flat at 2.0 sen, SP Setia gained 10.0 sen to RM1.41, Cape EMS rose 1.0 sen to 32.5 sen, and Velesto held steady at 19.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose by 32.43 points to 12,301.38, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 35.35 points to 12,200.91.
The FBMT 100 Index climbed 31.14 points to 12,002.96, the FBM 70 Index grew 27.03 points to 17,610.20, and the FBM ACE Index strengthened by 16.33 points to 5,077.18.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged 72.49 points to 19,387.84, the Energy Index advanced 5.49 points to 854.85, the Plantation Index inched up 12.88 points to 7,213.36, and the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 1.16 points to 175.14.
-- BERNAMA
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