KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 ― Bursa Malaysia was marginally higher at mid-morning today, boosted by buying momentum in selected heavyweights.

At 11am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged up 0.89 of-a-point to 1,581.41 from yesterday’s close of 1,580.52.

The index opened 2.67 points easier at 1,577.85.

Market breadth was positive as gainers edged past losers at 430 to 409, while 404 counters were unchanged, 962 untraded and 18 others suspended.

Total volume stood at 2.20 billion units worth RM1.41 billion.

Among the heavyweights, IHH Healthcare rose seven sen to RM5.35, Maybank increased five sen to RM8.33, Kuala Lumpur Kepong surged 48 sen to RM22.50, Sime Darby Plantation gained four sen to RM4.45 and Hartalega advanced six sen to RM9.97.

Meanwhile, Public Bank and TNB eased one sen each to RM4.18 and RM9.96, respectively, while Top Glove declined five sen to RM5.40 and Press Metal depreciated nine sen to RM5.11.

Of the actives, LKL International was 1.5 sen higher at 42 sen, UCrest improved by 3.5 sen to 36.5 sen, Kanger International edged up half-a-sen to 8.5 sen, Dagang Nexchange rose 2.5 sen to 73 sen, Focus Dynamics was flat at six sen and Hip Teck eased three sen to 50 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index bagged 17.21 points to 11,511.11, the FBMT 100 Index expanded by 17.45 points to 11,201.26, and the FBM ACE widened 65.70 points to 7,786.84. 

The FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 14.8 points to 12,838.85,  and the FBM 70 went up 66.48 points to 14,835.83. 

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index strengthened 40.21 points to 6,948.99, the Industrial Products and Services Index fell 0.46 of-a-point to 191.48, while the Financial Services Index strengthened by 47.07 points to 14,920.02. ― Bernama