KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 — Investors’ interest continued to lift Bursa Malaysia at mid-afternoon with the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rising 1.99 points to 1,611.51 at 3.05pm.

The index opened 1.54 points higher at 1,611.06 compared with 1,609.52 at yesterday’s close.

On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 564 to 506, while 427 counters were unchanged, 599 untraded and 13 others suspended.

Total volume stood at 4.89 billion units worth RM3.03 billion.

Market sentiment was boosted by the prime minister’s announcement on the RM15 billion Malaysian Economic and Rakyat’s Protection Assistance Package (PERMAI) yesterday, as well as optimism surrounding the United States President-elect Joseph Biden’s inauguration tomorrow.

Of the heavyweights, Maybank added nine sen to RM8.17, Public Bank rose two sen to RM21.00 and PetChem gained 15 sen to RM7.43.

However, Tenaga eased four sen to RM10.04 and Top Glove retreated 10 sen to RM6.24.

Of the actives, Vsolar and KTG were flat at four sen and 27 sen, respectively, while PA Resources improved half-a-sen to 18 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 13.34 points to 11,642.3, the FBMT 100 Index expanded 13.96 points to 11,369.77, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 2.31 points to 13,174.11.

The FBM 70 rose 17.87 points to 14,885.93 but the FBM ACE was 20.54 points easier at 10,867.82.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index climbed 51.14 points to 14,853.38, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 1.02 points to 179.26 and the Plantation Index improved 25.38 points to 7,324.69. — Bernama