KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session on a firm note, extending yesterday’s gains on positive sentiment surrounding the market brought on by the approval of Budget 2021 by Parliament yesterday.

The performance was in line with regional peers, which took cue from US stocks which rose sharply overnight as investors reacted to signs that a fiscal-stimulus bill is expected to be passed soon, dealers said.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 12.21 points to 1,686.23 from yesterday's close of 1,674.05.

It opened 20.31 points higher at 1,694.33 and moved between 1,685.48 and 1,695.87 in the morning session.

On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 791 to 380, while 466 counters were unchanged, 507 untraded and 18 others suspended.

Volume stood at 6.72 billion units worth RM2.74 billion.

Regionally, China's Shanghai Stock Exchange rose 0.18 per cent to 3,373.16, Singapore's Straits Times Index increased 0.40 per cent to 2,868.12, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.16 per cent to 26,729.64, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.82 per cent to 26,422.87.

 A dealer said the local bourse was broadly higher in the morning session on positive spillover of the late buying euphoria after the passing of Budget 2021 yesterday.

"The market undertone remained strong, with continued buying in heavyweight stocks seen across the board.

"With the ongoing window dressing activities, the FBM KLCI could be lifted higher as funds may be rotating back towards value and recovery themed stocks over the next two weeks,” he added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added four sen to RM8.89, Public Bank rose 32 sen to RM22.00 and Top Glove gained 34 sen to RM6.75.

Petronas Chemicals fell 44 sen to RM7.52, while Tenaga was flat at RM10.80.

Of the actives, Sino Hua-An and Dynaciate improved one sen each to 21.5 sen and 13 sen respectively, Bina Puri warrant added three sen to 7.5 sen, Tiger Synergy warrant climbed eight sen to 9.5 sen while Focus Dynamics warrant was flat at 3.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 105.42 points higher at 12,114.45, the FBMT 100 Index jumped 101.36 points to 11,877.25, the FBM 70 surged 192.47 points to 15,473.60, the FBM ACE rose 80.92 points to 10,772.24,  and the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 133.62 points to 13,430.58.

Meanwhile, the Financial Services Index increased 71.91 points to 16,023.63, the Plantation Index slid 3.45 points to 7,388.44, and the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 2.32 points to 175.33. ― Bernama